James Ohlen, co-lead designer of the second Baldur's Gate, turned down Baldur's Gate 4
, by Thibaut
Following the resounding success of Baldur's Gate 3 in 2023, Hasbro quite naturally sought to begin development on a sequel. The American company is taking its time and has already attempted to approach certain creators.
One such person was James Ohlen, who served as co-lead designer on Baldur's Gate 2. In an interview with PC Gamer, Ohlen revealed that Hasbro wanted to entrust him with the production of Baldur's Gate 4. Ohlen declined due to the sheer scale of the task ahead of him. He believed the game would be a failure if it weren’t developed by Larian Studios. For him, designing this fourth installment from scratch would have meant "at least half a decade of horror, builgind all that stuff."
Most recently, James Ohlen worked on the sci-fi action-RPG Exodus, expected in 2027. He officially announced he was leaving Archetype Entertainment in January. Meanwhile, Larian Studios is working on a new Divinity game. Baldur's Gate 4 doesn't have a developer just yet.
Source: pcgamer.com