Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 remakes reportedly in development

Wizards of the Coast is returning to Baldur’s Gate. PC Gamer reports that Wizards of the Coast is developing remakes of Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, with Kevin Martens leading development. Martens was the co-lead designer of Baldur’s Gate 2 and most recently was assisting in the development of Exodus, Wizards’ upcoming AAA video game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was a major success for Wizards of the Coast and a sequel game seems inevitable. However, Larian Studios opted to leave the franchise to pursue its own IP, and Wizards has yet to announce what studio, whether internal or external, would take over. A remake of the first two Baldur’s Gate games would likely be a stopgap of sorts to keep fans interested in the franchise while lining up Baldur’s Gate 4, although a lot of work would be needed to update the games for modern consoles and PCs. Remastered versions were already released for iOS and PC a decade ago.

 

[The Glen]

So I am not sure about "did not exist". I think the only 2 races you could really say that about are Dragonborn and Tieflings and Tieflings probably existed even though they were not talked about.

Tieflings were not talked about in 14th century Faerun fiction, but they probably existed since Alu-Demons, Draegloths and Cambions existed, unless we are to assume they were all sterile.

Dragonborn are a bit more difficult as I think they really only came to Faerun after the spellplague.

So Dragonborn are the only race I see an issue with. As far as classes, I think they all did exist. Those are kind of divorced from the fiction anyway and just a different way of interpreting. Like no Evil Paladins existed in 13th century, but evil kingts and clerics and cleric-knights certainly did, so it is not a stretch to have evil Paladins. Sorcerers too did not officially exist as a class but Wizards that were called Sorcerers did.

BG2 gave you a tiefling bard in the form of Haer Dalis, but he was a plainscape tiefling and not an abyssal. He didn't look anything like a demon boy.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

So I am not sure about "did not exist". I think the only 2 races you could really say that about are Dragonborn and Tieflings and Tieflings probably existed even though they were not talked about.

Tieflings were not talked about in 14th century Faerun fiction, but they probably existed since Alu-Demons, Draegloths and Cambions existed, unless we are to assume they were all sterile.

Dragonborn are a bit more difficult as I think they really only came to Faerun after the spellplague.

So Dragonborn are the only race I see an issue with.

As far as classes, I think they all did exist. Those are kind of divorced from the fiction anyway and the mechanics are jsut a way of interpreting the fiction. Like no Evil Paladins existed in 13th century, but evil kingts and clerics and cleric-knights certainly did, so it is not a stretch to have evil Paladins. Sorcerers and Warlocks too did not officially exist as a classes but Wizards that were called Sorcerers and Warlocks did exist.

Haer'dalis shows up in BG2, so tieflings exist, they're just rare. I was thinking more about goliaths and dragonborn- the former of whom just kinda popped up for the first time during 3.5e, the latter of whom are literal space aliens who weren't on the planet at the time of BG.

 

[Scribe]

They would have to reuse some of the voice acting, especially for the villains. You're going to have a hard time replacing Kevin Michael Richardson or David Warner. And Jim Cummings Minsc can only be copied it can never be replicated

Edwin as well, cannot be replaced. I can hear all the BG2 Evil characters, I played through that game so many times.

Actually, now I really want to load it up.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

The same poor-quality isometric BG 1 graphics without character visualization but just with combat upgraded to 5E?

This would be an insane choice - but I don’t think anyone (here or otherwise) has seriously suggested it.

Also, “poor-quality isometric BG1 graphics”? By modern standards, sure, but isometric painted backgrounds and sprite-based graphics have stood the test of time far better than a lot of early 3D and tile-based stuff.

MP said:

Haer'dalis shows up in BG2, so tieflings exist, they're just rare. I was thinking more about goliaths and dragonborn- the former of whom just kinda popped up for the first time during 3.5e, the latter of whom are literal space aliens who weren't on the planet at the time of BG.

Kids these days mostly want to play sexy tieflings and drow - I think if those options are covered then there’ll be no major issues. Drow could play interestingly, though - I recall 2E Faerun being less open-minded than the 5E version.

 

[SkidAce]

I think it's obvious this game is going to use the 5e ruleset, but I'm curious if it is going to include classes or races that straight up didn't exist in Faerun in the 14th century.

I would suggest to them to have the original classes and races in a remake, and have dlc for things like classes and races that were not in the original.

Purists and Noobs both could be happy.

 

[DEFCON 1]

This would be an insane choice - but I don’t think anyone (here or otherwise) has seriously suggested it.

Also, “poor-quality isometric BG1 graphics”? By modern standards, sure, but isometric painted backgrounds and sprite-based graphics have stood the test of time far better than a lot of early 3D and tile-based stuff.

The arguments prior to my post were about whether the game needed to be turn-based or real time with pause... which were in my mind the least of the problems with the idea of re-doing BG 1 & 2. The graphics and lack of vocalization are the primary things one would need to upgrade to make a re-do at all even possibly worthwhile... not worrying about getting the mechanics updated to 5E (and thus whether the game needs to be turn-based or RTWP.)

 

[Pale Violet Light]

The arguments prior to my post were about whether the game needed to be turn-based or real time with pause... which were in my mind the least of the problems with the idea of re-doing BG 1 & 2. The graphics and lack of vocalization are the primary things one would need to upgrade to make a re-do at all even possibly worthwhile... not worrying about getting the mechanics updated to 5E (and thus whether the game needs to be turn-based or RTWP.)

As others have said, the goal is probably to suck in BG3 players, so I think all the things you’ve noted are a given. By the same token, an update to 5E of some variety seems inevitable. I actually think the original audio holds up very well. Many other modern cRPGs (Pillars and the Owlcat lot) are not fully voiced; I guess for a remake it depends on budget and whether newer BG3-only fans can tolerate that.

 

[gban007]

So I am not sure about "did not exist". I think the only 2 races you could really say that about are Dragonborn and Tieflings and Tieflings probably existed even though they were not talked about.

Tieflings were not talked about in 14th century Faerun fiction, but they probably existed since Alu-Demons, Draegloths and Cambions existed, unless we are to assume they were all sterile.

Dragonborn are a bit more difficult as I think they really only came to Faerun after the spellplague.

So Dragonborn are the only race I see an issue with.

As far as classes, I think they all did exist. Those are kind of divorced from the fiction anyway and the mechanics are jsut a way of interpreting the fiction. Like no Evil Paladins existed in 13th century, but evil kingts and clerics and cleric-knights certainly did, so it is not a stretch to have evil Paladins. Sorcerers and Warlocks too did not officially exist as a classes but Wizards that were called Sorcerers and Warlocks did exist.

They had sorcerer in Baldurs Gate 2. Was my favourite class to play, and was happy whrn enhanced edition of BG1 allowed you to play sorcerer in that too.

 

[Distracted DM]

They had sorcerer in Baldurs Gate 2. Was my favourite class to play, and was happy whrn enhanced edition of BG1 allowed you to play sorcerer in that too.

Yup. Sorcerer was not a 2e class, but because BG2 was in development around the same time as 3e's development, they added the Sorc to BG2 as sort of a class preview.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

They had sorcerer in Baldurs Gate 2. Was my favourite class to play, and was happy whrn enhanced edition of BG1 allowed you to play sorcerer in that too.

Always had a soft-spot for sorcerers: the semi-Vancian casting appeals more than the classic wizardy style (I shall hand in my grognard card immediately). On the other hand, I cannot stand warlocks at all - they are powerful, boring, and occupy a niche that overlaps too much with the sorcerer. So I guess 2000 was the last year I could accept any new classes.