Starbreeze Cancels Co-Op D&D Video Game

A planned cooperative Dungeons & Dragons video game under development by Starbreeze has been cancelled. Starbreeze, the video game studio behind the Payday franchise of games, announced that they were cancelling Project Baxter, a planned D&D video game that had co-op gameplay and was planned as a "Games as a service" product. 44 employees (split between staff and contractors) were laid off as part of the cancellation. Starbreeze also announced that they were writing off SEK 255 million (or $27.2 million in US dollars) in development costs related to the game.

Project Baxter was one of several of several active D&D video games in development. Also in the works is an action-adventure game by Giant Skull, a survival game from Gameloft, and two games from in-house studios owned by Hasbro. Wizards of the Coast also recently announced plans to open a new video game studio in Montreal dedicated to developing new D&D video games.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

BG3 was an absolute fluke.

Not only that, but it was a fluke the studio decided not to follow up on with a sequel. The reasons for that can be discussed separately, but it's almost irrelevant - it just points to how IP licencing has become increasingly unpopular over the last 20 years, and how much difficulty WotC apparently has with maintaining positive relationships with skilled/experienced development studios.

I think they might say “ this looks like a stinker” so cut bait .

With some studios I might believe that.

With Starbreeze? Nah. If they couldn't tell Payday 3 wasn't hot, they wouldn't have been able to tell here. What's much more likely, given everything we know, is that Starbreeze are in enough financial trouble that they simple don't have the wherewithal to complete the project. Especially it would really need to be solidly AAA quality to sell well in this market.

The absolute titans of the industry, like Microsoft or Square Enix, can bite the bullet and pay for the enormous cost of a maximum-budget game, knowing that as long as it's at least pretty decent they'll make their money back eventually.

Even those companies are often cutting projects off quite far into development. MS cancelled an MMORPG that was at least 80% complete, probably would have released early 2027 at the latest, as well as a bunch of other projects which were looking solid. But MS seem to have lost the plot recently, given not only these cuts into, essentially, their own future, but the demented decision to raise prices on Game Pass massively. Like, the basic PC Game Pass is going up by 40% with absolutely no improvements planned, and no spectacular-seeming games any time in the foreseeable future being added. And they've bumped the top tier up to $30, with absolutely pathetic additions that no-one cares about. And it's not like Game Pass wasn't profitable! It was already massively profitable. I guess they're hoping they lose few enough subscribers that the hike makes up for it, but I suspect they will be disappointed. Game Pass isn't Netflix, but MS thinks it is.

So even those companies like that can bite the bullet, the nature of corporations and cowardice and always looking at the next annual report (and thus annual bonuses for high-end execs) means that games that could have been genre-defining or provided profits for a decade or more to come get zapped.

 

[Hurin70]

I applaud wotc.

You do? Because their management of the D&D videogames has been a trainwreck for over a decade, and even their successes (BG3) were ones they had to have pitched to them twice before they saw the potential.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

At this point I'm less surprised when a D&D game actually launches. Prior to August 2023 I was entirely ready for BG3 to be canceled with only the Early Access to show for it.

 

[wicked cool]

You do? Because their management of the D&D videogames has been a trainwreck for over a decade, and even their successes (BG3) were ones they had to have pitched to them twice before they saw the potential.

I am. I watched BioWare destroy dragon age by mismanagement and spending millions

Look around at the competition.

Larian made a partnership with wotc. Have t seen them make a partnership yet with anyone else

Pathfinder-these games are ok. Yes maybe for a limited audience they are fantastic but I’m not recommending them to anyone

Then it either Witcher 4 on the horizon, someday the next Skyrim or double a studios like Avalon that don’t have budgets

As far as I know wotc and Larian are the only 2 company’s seizing on the success of Bg3.



There isn’t anyone else so yes I applaud wotc. Maybe they bumble some time but there’s nobody else and it’s not wotcs fault

Demand more from pathfinder- probably can’t because they don’t have the capital

 

[GDGD]

I don't think BG3 was a fluke at all. I think BG3 and the D&D MMO were successful because playing them actually felt like playing D&D. (To a large extent, anyhow).

A lot of these games have as much to do with D&D as a tube of D&D-branded toothpaste would. I mean, I like Porsches, but that doesn't mean I like wearing t-shirts with Porsche logos on them.