Larian Is Building a New Engine for Divinity Because the Previous One Held Baldur’s Gate 3 Back - Restart.run

Larian Studios is kicking off the next Divinity with a brand-new game engine, revealed alongside the franchise’s return at The Game Awards. In an impromptu bar-side Q&A, CEO and Baldur’s Gate 3 creative director Swen Vincke explained that the studio’s previous engine, used for Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur’s Gate 3, increasingly limited development.

Why build a new engine

• Faster iteration: The team wants to react more quickly when systems or features aren’t working and adjust rulesets with greater flexibility.
• Modern streaming and memory: In Baldur’s Gate 3, the city had to be split into two parts due to the lack of streaming and memory constraints. The new tech aims to remove those bottlenecks.
• More ambitious design: With fewer constraints and less reliance on workarounds, Larian can pursue different and more innovative ideas.

What it means for the next Divinity

• Early development: The project is still nascent. Whether Early Access makes sense will be decided later based on the market.
• No platforms or release date yet: Larian is focused on core technology first.

Ongoing support

• Baldur’s Gate 3 remains actively updated.
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 is receiving an update for modern consoles.

Bottom line: Larian’s new engine is built to overcome the pain points of Baldur’s Gate 3—enabling faster iteration, streaming for large seamless spaces, and the freedom to try new ideas—so the next Divinity can reach beyond BG3’s technical ceiling.

Source: https://www.restart.run/articles/larian-is-building-a-new-engine-for-divinity-because-the-previous-one-held-baldur-s-gate-3-back