AlthoughBaldur’s Gate 3will likely get a sequel at some point in the future, any potential follow-up to one of the best RPGs in recent years has a major plot hole to figure out. The freedom of choice inBG3might lead to its own downfall, as it creates a nebulous number of routes that can’t all be focused on at the same time.
A directsequel isn’t quite as feasible withBG3, for a variety of reasons. The most explicit example is thatBG3developer, Larian Studios, has parted ways withD&Dteams at Wizards of the Coastto work on another unrelated project. Without the same direction at the helm that madeBG3so successful, it’s hard to imagine what another game in the series would look like.
Baldur’s Gate 4 Can’t Work With Every BG3 Ending
There are a great many endings toBG3, each determined by the choices you make between you and your companions.Evil, good, and neutral endings are all possible, with a plethora of unique pathsthat are entirely reflective of an individual player’s decisions. While this provides tons of freedom, it would be extremely confusing for any sequel to follow.
With how grand of scale the ending toBG3is for its impact on the Sword Coast and Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast are likely reluctant to make any events or characters of the game canon to anyD&Dlore.
No ending is established as"canon"for any characters, from Astarion to the Dark Urge. Every origin character has multiple endings, but I’ve found that none of them are considered the"official"conclusion to any part of the story.
An imaginaryBaldur’s Gate 4that follows the story ofBG3would have to reconcile many different plot points with multiple outcomes. For example,did Shadowheart slay the Nightsongor spare it? Did Astarion become an Ascended Vampire or refuse the ritual? These questions would have to be answered ifBG4took place within memory ofBG3’s narrative.
Besides just the characters, any direct sequel would have to decide which ending steered the course of the Forgotten Realms' future.At least one ending needs to be marked as canon to have any sequel continue the story, but this could alienate many fans. Even ifBG4chose a neutral ending as canon, it would take away the impact of other endings players chose to end their adventures.
A Baldur’s Gate 4 Time Skip Would Cause Its Own Problems
Another Era Needs Everything Built From Scratch
One possible solution for a potentialBG4is to have it take place far in the past or futurefromBG3’s events. This way, the"canon"ending doesn’t matter as much, and only small references need to be made to the events of the game, if at all.
However, this causes its own problems, mainly by givingBG4’s developers nothing to work with from the previous game’s well-developed story.Oftentimes, sequels depend on details from the past to work, as they can immediately rope in fans who were fans of the events that have already taken place. Players who want to see locations or characters fromBG3would be unable to connect with anything that made them fall in love withBG3in the first place.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s inclusion of past charactersand events fromBaldur’s Gate 2and the originalBaldur’s Gatemade sense since both of those games had linear endings. While it was easy to put Minsc and Jaheira inBG3, it would be harder to put Astarion, Karlach, or Gale intoBG4.
Making a whole new Forgotten Realms or Sword Coast world in the past or future would be a lot of work forBaldur’s Gate 4. Any distanced story requires a lot of extra effort, especially if it still has to follow the events ofBG3.Any setting in the future would be dependent on an establishedBG3ending, but Wizards of the Coast is unlikely to let a game’s event shape a coreD&Dlocation’s history.
The Best BG3 Follow-Ups Wouldn’t Be BG4
An Indirect Story Might Be The Only Option
Unfortunately, one of the only ways I think you can avoid the sloppy canon ofBG3is to avoid its narrative entirely in a sequel.Having a prequel or a title set far apart from the Sword Coast might be a good direction, but doing so makes anyBaldur’s Gate 4likely far away from the city the series is named after.
Indirect connections might rob a futureBaldur’s Gategame of its identity, but it does open the door for many new things.A greatBG4titlemight take place in another establishedDungeons and Dragonssetting, such as Neverwinter, the island of Chult, or even locations from past editions of the TTRPG, like Greyhawk or Dragonlance.
It could be disappointing to abandon all the story and characters that madeBG3so great, but the flexibility of that game’s story might be better if it remained singular. to makeBaldur’s Gate 4another fantastic entry in the RPG series, it may have to disconnect itself withBaldur’s Gate 3as a whole to create something new.
