Wizards of the Coast has signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Giant Skull, the studio led by Star Wars Jedi director Stig Asmussen, to create a new Dungeons and Dragons game. The project is set to be a single-player action-adventure game, and sounds like a clear reaction to the immense success of Baldur's Gate 3. Before you start holding out hope for Baldur's Gate 4, though, early signs already point to this being a very different experience.
We've been waiting to hear about what Giant Skull is up to for some time. Last year the triple-A studio was formally revealed, with Stig Asmussen at the helm. Asmussen previously worked on the original God of War trilogy at Sony Santa Monica, before stepping up as director on God of War 3. He then moved across to Respawn Entertainment, where he worked on both Star Wars: Jedi – Fallen Order and Survivor, before departing the studio and founding Giant Skull. Since then, it's all been relatively hush hush, but after the success of Baldur's Gate 3, the team is diving into the world of Dungeons and Dragons.
DnD owner Wizards of the Coast is working with Giant Skull on this new game, and a combination of Asmussen's experience and a new comment on the partnership gives us a clue to the type of game we'll be playing.
"Our talented and experienced team at Giant Skull is built on creativity and curiosity," Asmussen says. "Our goal is to craft a rich new Dungeons and Dragons universe filled with immersive storytelling, heroic combat, and exhilarating traversal that players will fully embrace."
Even with just one sentence, this new DnD game sounds an awful lot like the recent Star Wars: Jedi games. Those are focused on big-budget narratives, engaging combat systems, and Metroidvania-inspired traversal mechanics, and it certainly sounds like Giant Skull is building something similar.
If you're holding out hope that this is Baldur's Gate 4, I'm here to tell you to adjust your expectations. Baldur's Gate has always been a CRPG, and with the success of BG3, I don't see Wizards of the Coast changing that now. Giant Skull's project is also described as a "single-player action-adventure title," so it would make sense that the team is leaning on Asmussen's previous experience.
Still, if you want to revisit Larian's huge hit, we've got all the best Baldur's Gate 3 builds and Baldur's Gate 3 mods to suck you back in.
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