An official Baldur’s Gate 2 remake is reportedly in the works at Wizards of the Coast.
PC Gamer reported that it is likely that BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 will both get remakes ahead of the release of Baldur’s Gate 4. The publication said former BioWare developer and Baldur's Gate 2 co-lead designer Kevin Martens is working on the remake. There’s the suggestion both remakes will launch together.
Wizards of the Coast parent company Hasbro told IGN: "We do not comment on speculation or rumor."
The big question here, assuming the report is true, revolves around the scope of the remakes. It seems unlikely we’ll be getting Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 remade in the Baldur’s Gate 3 style, given how long it would take to convert the thousands of hours of content both games offer combined into something in-keeping with Larian’s role-playing masterpiece.
Perhaps Hasbro views remakes as a stop-gap between the phenomenally successful Baldur’s Gate 3 and the inevitable sequel, which has astronomical fan expectation to navigate. With Larian leaving Baldur’s Gate and indeed Dungeons & Dragons behind to make the next Divinity game, there are big shoes to fill — perhaps the biggest in video games.
Baldur’s Gate was BioWare’s second game, releasing on PC in 1998 and published by Interplay. It did well enough to spawn a sequel, 2000’s Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, which like its predecessor took place in the Forgotten Realms. Both original games use an isometric perspective and pausable real-time gameplay, with the player controlling up to six characters. Could the remakes follow Baldur’s Gate 3’s lead and go for fully turn-based combat? Or maybe a hybrid system is in order.
There’s plenty going on in the world of Baldur’s Gate, despite the long wait for a sequel. There’s a Baldur’s Gate 3 HBO TV show in the works, one that will continue the story from the game — much to the surprise of fans. There’s even a prequel novel depicting Astarion’s time in servitude to the Vampire Lord Cazador Szarr, an official Baldur’s Gate 3 cookbook, and a coloring book.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
