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Larian Studios

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Larian Studios
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
Founded1996; 28 years ago (1996)
FounderSwen Vincke
Headquarters
Ghent
,
Belgium
Number of locations
7 (2024)[1]
ProductsDivinity series
Baldur's Gate 3
Number of employees
470 (2024)[2]
Websitelarian.com

Larian Studios is a Belgian independent video game developer and publisher founded in 1996 by Swen Vincke.[3] Headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Larian focuses on developing role-playing video games but has previously worked on educational games and casino games.[4] It is best known for developing the Divinity series and Baldur's Gate 3.

Larian has studios in 6 other countries around the world: Quebec City (Canada), Dublin (Ireland), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Guildford (United Kingdom), Barcelona (Spain), and Warsaw (Poland).[5]

History

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Swen Vincke founded Larian Studios in 1996.[6][7] As a lead designer in the company, he contributed to all of Larian's early game projects, including the award-winning role-playing game Divine Divinity (2002) and its sequel Beyond Divinity (2004).[8][9]

Larian's first project was called The Lady, the Mage and the Knight, a game set in the world of The Dark Eye.[10] During that time they also developed The L.E.D. Wars, a strategy game that was developed within 5 months and published by Ionos in 1997.[11] As a result, The Lady, the Mage and the Knight soon evolved into a collaborative project between Larian Studios and Attic Entertainment Software, who release the previous The Dark Eye computer games (under the name Realms of Arkania). Due to various problems between the two development studios and its publisher, the project was abandoned in 1999.[12]

In 2002, Larian completed work on Divinity: Sword of Lies which was published under the name Divine Divinity by CDV.[13] In 2004, Beyond Divinity, the sequel to Divine Divinity, was published in two editions: the standard version by Ubisoft Entertainment GmbH[14] and the deluxe version by MediaMix Benelux which contained Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and a novella by Rhianna Pratchett called "Son of Chaos".[15]

Also in 2004, KetnetKick, an educational game, was developed for Ketnet and released by Transposia.[16] In 2006, Beyond Divinity was re-released under Gold Games 9 by Ubisoft Entertainment which was a set of 10 games on 6 DVDs.[17]

In March 2008, Adventure Rock,[18] an online virtual world, was completed and released. This was followed by the release of KetnetKick 2 in October 2008 by VRT, the public broadcaster in Flanders. In March 2009, GulliLand[19] was published by Jeunesse TV, a French national broadcasting channel. In January 2010, Larian released Divinity II: Ego Draconis - the sequel to Divine Divinity - to the U.S. market on Xbox 360 and Windows[20] simultaneously, after releases in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Benelux. Larian has also produced Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, and built a Gold Deluxe version that holds all Divinity II episodes, called Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga.

In August 2013 Larian released Divinity: Dragon Commander, a game mixing strategy and role-playing elements in the Divinity universe, before the events of Divine Divinity.[21] The game has received an overall positive reception and gained attention thanks to its novel approach to strategy.

Larian released Divinity: Original Sin, a turn-based role-playing game set between Dragon Commander and Divine Divinity, in June 2014 after several delays. The game was funded partly thanks to a Kickstarter campaign which pulled in $944,282, more than double its goal of $400,000.[22][23] Original Sin was originally budgeted at €3 million, twice the amount of cash Larian had on hand, but by the time the game released Larian spent a total of €4.5 million on it; according to Swen Vincke, Larian delayed tax payments and pulled resources from Dragon Commander's development in order to fully fund and complete Original Sin, and the company would have gone bankrupt if the game had not been a success.[24] Upon its release, Original Sin became the fastest-selling game in Larian's history.[25] An enhanced edition was launched on 27 October 2015, including all formerly published downloadable content and several improvements. Larian began development of its Divinity Engine along with Divinity: Original Sin.

Divinity: Original Sin 2, a sequel to Divinity: Original Sin, was funded through Kickstarter as well, raising the necessary amount to create the game within hours, and reaching all of its stretch goals.[26] The game takes place 1200 years after the events in Divinity: Original Sin and retains many of the gameplay elements that were present in first Original Sin.[citation needed] The game was released into Steam Early Access on 15 September 2016, with its full Version 1.0 release taking place just under one year later on 14 September 2017.[27][28] An enhanced version featuring various improvements was released on 31 August 2018. At some point Tencent acquired a minority stake in the company.[29]

Larian Studios developed Baldur's Gate 3, a role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. It is the third main game in the Baldur's Gate series, itself based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing system. It released in early access format on PC and Mac through Steam and GOG on 6 October 2020,[30] with a full release on 3 August 2023.[31] The game received universal acclaim and won many awards, including several Game of the Year awards such as from The Game Awards[32] and the D.I.C.E. Awards.[33]

Following the release of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian began work on downloadable content for the title but canceled it. The studio considered making Baldur's Gate 4, but decided to instead work on a new project. When asked if the new project would be Divinity Original Sin: 3, Vincke could neither confirm nor deny. He did, however, say it will be "different than what you think it is" but that it's "still familiar."[34][35]

Technology

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Main article: Divinity Engine

Games developed

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Year Title Platform(s) Notes
1997 The L.E.D. Wars Windows
2002 Divine Divinity Windows, macOS
2004 Beyond Divinity Windows, macOS
2009 Divinity II: Ego Draconis Windows, Xbox 360 The Dragon Knight Saga released in 2010, Developer's Cut released in 2012
2010 Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance Windows, Xbox 360 Expansion pack to Divinity II
2013 Divinity: Dragon Commander Windows
2014 Divinity: Original Sin Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS Enhanced Edition released in 2015
2017 Divinity: Original Sin II Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Nintendo Switch, iPadOS Definitive Edition released in 2018
2023 Baldur's Gate 3 Windows, PlayStation 5, macOS, Xbox Series X/S
Cancelled games
Year Title Platform(s) Notes
1999 The Lady, the Mage and the Knight Windows Developed in collaboration with Attic Entertainment Software
2019 Divinity: Fallen Heroes Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Educational games

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  • Ketnet Kick (2004)
  • Adventure Rock (2008)
  • Ketnet Kick 2 (2008)
  • GulliLand (2009)
  • Superia (2009)
  • Monkey Labs (2009)
  • Monkey Tales (2011)

References

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  1. ^ "Careers - Larian Studios".
  2. ^ Tapsell, Chris (28 March 2024). "The big Larian interview: Swen Vincke on industry woes, optimism, and life after Baldur's Gate 3". Eurogamer. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Larian company information". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  4. ^ Larian Casino Games Archived 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Domeradzka, Zuzanna (19 March 2024). "Larian Studios Now Officially Has Studio in Poland. Baldur's Gate 3 Devs Have Opened New Branch in Warsaw". Gamepressure. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  6. ^ IGN Staff (7 December 2003). "Riftrunner Interview with Swen Vincke at Gamatomic". IGN. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. ^ "About Me « Swen Vincke @ Larian Studios". Swen Vincke @ Larian Studios. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Swen Vincke on the future of Divinity: Original Sin 2, and the pros and cons of open development". pcgamer. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. ^ Lenting, Tom (January 2019). "Een aanzet tot de gamegeschiedenis van België". Academia (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  10. ^ Paragraph 5, Lines 3-4: Publishing industry skeptical Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Article about LEDWars at MobyGames". Mobygames.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  12. ^ The truth about LMK (by Lar also known as Swen) Archived 15 August 2001 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Information about Divine Divinity at MobyGames". Mobygames.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Information about Beyond Divinity Standard Edition at MobyGames". Mobygames.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Information about Beyond Divinity Deluxe Edition at MobyGames". Mobygames.com. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  16. ^ "KetnetKick". Mobygames.com. 29 October 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Information about Gold Games 9 at MobyGames". Mobygames.com. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  18. ^ "AdventureRock". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  19. ^ "GulliLand". Larian.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  20. ^ ISM signs up Larian Studios Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "GameStar: Voices of Igromir 2011. Swen Vincke: "It won't be bad, to have an army". Gamestar.ru. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  22. ^ "Kickstarter Campaign". Kickstarter. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  23. ^ "Kicktraq: Divinity: Original Sin". Kicktraq. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  24. ^ "How Divinity: Original Sin almost bankrupted Larian Studios". PCGamer. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Divinity Original Sin is Larian Studios' fastest selling game ever". Eurogamer. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Divinity: Original Sin 2". Kickstarter. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  27. ^ "Divinity: Original Sin II is coming to Steam Early Access on September 15". 22 August 2016.
  28. ^ "Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition - It's here! - Steam News". 14 September 2017.
  29. ^ "Mittelfinger an die AAA-Industrie: Baldur's Gate 3 war kein Zufall". gamestar.de. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Baldur's Gate 3 Is Having A Very Successful First Day In Early Access". GameSpot. 6 October 2020.
  31. ^ "Baldur's Gate 3 has a sort-of release date, finally". eurogamer.net. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  32. ^ Park, Morgan (7 December 2023). "'I didn't think we were gonna get it': Baldur's Gate 3 dominates The Game Awards with 6 wins, including GOTY". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  33. ^ "2024 Awards Category Details Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  34. ^ Bailey, Kat. "Larian Started Work on Baldur's Gate 3 DLC, Then Canceled It: 'The Studio Was Elated'". IGN. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  35. ^ Stedman, Alex. "Larian Studios Won't Make Baldur's Gate 3 DLC, Expansions, or Baldur's Gate 4". IGN. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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