Owlcat founder breaks down RPG budgets and Larian’s impact on genre: “We can’t invest $200 million to make BG3”

[John Elden Ring]

RPGs have always been one of the most difficult and risky genres in terms of production. Here is what Owlcat Games founder and CEO Oleg Shpilchevskiy has to say about the challenges posed by rising costs, as well as the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its impact on the industry.

Owlcat’s previous titles — the Pathfinder series and Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader — were all AA, so their budgets were in line with the second tier mentioned above. And while many think that it is better to aim higher with each game, pouring more money into production usually makes things more difficult.

“To make a $50 million game, you need — I’m exaggerating here — 300-400 people, and they have to work in unison and not waste money, but make sure all the pieces come together in the end. This is not trivial at all, let’s put it this way,”

BG3 has a gigantic budget. Few studios can actually afford this, let alone put so much money into an isometric game. I know this was already the second game for Larian that was a hit-or-miss situation — when you invest all your money in one shot and then wait to see if it hits or not. Good for them, they are brave people, and it is clear that they're not doing this in vain. But, again, we can't invest, say, $200 million to make BG3 — we don't have that kind of money yet. And I don't know of any company in the world that would invest so much money in a CRPG.

Shpilchevskiy said.

Shpilchevskiy noted that it is not about whether Larian has set the bar for the genre, because it is the very phenomenon and a one-of-a-kind company that will shine at the top. While he believes that other studios will continue to “dig their niches,” he agrees that Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new benchmark for the genre in terms of quality and execution of certain elements. So not every studio should always strive for a bigger budget. According to Shpilchevskiy, there are a lot of companies that are perfectly fine with staying in the indie niche, building a reputation and making money while creating great games.

Source

 

[JAHGamer]

was BG3 really $200 million? I know it wasn't cheap but that seems crazy

 

[Nhomnhom]

If you can't hire actors to do mocap and voice acting, then don't expect that to be your game's strength. You don't need to copy everything about BG3 you just need to learn the lesson when it comes to being a passionate dev that truly cares about the game they are making.

 

[Airbus]

was BG3 really $200 million? I know it wasn't cheap but that seems crazy

Nah this guy is wafling

Baldurs Gate 3 cost $100 m ( just google it)

Yeah its expensive for a crpg game but its a very well made game and well deserved

Their previous game pillars of eternity 2 only cost $ 4,4 m and still a great game

 

[ToTTenTranz]

And I don't know of any company in the world that would invest so much money in a CRPG.

After the sales success and cultural phenomenon that was BG3, you can bet your ass there will be companies in the world willing to invest that money in a CRPG.

 

[Zzero]

Because Divinity was such a huge hit before it. Work up to it, Owlcat.

 

[ethomaz]

Seems like $60 million was not enough to make BG3.
And they couldn't invest $200 million.

So they their budget ended between $60 and $200 million?