It was recently revealed that a live-action adaptation of Larian’s award-winning RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3, is on the way from prestige TV makers HBO. It somewhat makes sense at first glance — you can see the Game of Thrones of it all weaving into Baldur’s Gate’s DNA, which itself isn’t shy of a fair helping of shedding both blood and clothes. But look a little closer, and the worries begin. Not necessarily when considering Craig Mazin’s involvement (we’ll get to that later) but when noticing that, apparently, Larian will play no significant role in the show’s development. A decision I can’t help but feel would be a big mistake.

Before we get into why Larian is so essential to a show that dares to continue the story of Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s important to establish that the Belgian video game studio does not own the rights to the game’s universe, characters, or storylines. Baldur’s Gate 3 is set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, and so is the intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast, the Hasbro-owned tabletop RPG company. Larian’s partnership with Hasbro is over, and so Wizards can do whatever it wants with the likes of Shadowheart, Astarion, Gale, and company – whether that’s another game or, in this case, a TV show. Larian has no legal right to be involved. But that’s not to say its involvement doesn’t make sense, both in terms of simple respect for the studio’s work, and making the most of its unrivalled, extensive knowledge of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Following the show’s announcement, Larian’s director of publishing, Michael Douse, posted his thoughts on X. “I’ve spent the last 8 to 10 years of my life with the writers & creators of Baldur’s Gate 3, and they’re the most incredible storytellers & creators in the space,” he said. “Only hope is that they get both the credit deserved & the characters are represented at the same level as the game”.

As you’d expect, fans immediately took to social media to question members of Larian about the project. When asked if any of the game’s writers l would be involved in the show, Baldur’s Gate 3’s director and CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, confirmed that they’re not.

Not to my knowledge. But Craig did reach out to ask if he could come over to the studio to speak with us. From the conversation we had, I think he truely is a big fan which gives me hope.

— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) February 6, 2026

“Not to my knowledge,” he said. “But Craig [Mazin] did reach out to ask if he could come over to the studio to speak with us. From the conversation we had, I think he truely [sic] is a big fan which gives me hope”.

While it seems no one from Larian, at least at this stage, will be involved in the production process, it is encouraging to see that Mazin will consult with the studio. But is this really enough? This is a studio that reignited a world, turned a cult-classic CRPG series into one of gaming’s great phenomena, and I can’t help but feel that a little more than a handful of studio visits may be required for the show to make anywhere near as big a footprint on our culture. We do know that, according to the original report on the show’s announcement by Deadline, Mazin wants to reach out to the game’s beloved cast to sound out how best to approach their roles in the TV show, and if they’d want to be involved. This is another smart step towards recapturing the magic of the game, but it will be interesting to see how those actors react to being asked to speak someone else’s words – and their feelings on the very real potential of their starring roles being given to more prolific TV and film actors.

“I genuinely don’t think anyone can trump our writers”, Douse goes on to add. It’s a sentiment I agree with; no one knows those characters or that particular corner of Wizards of the Coast’s world quite like the narrative team at Larian. But, I also don’t think the game’s writers absolutely have to be part of the show’s writers room — crafting stories for video games and television are completely different arts, after all. I do, however, think that the show could do with a steady hand with first-hand experience of the tales Larian told to help steer the ship.

This isn’t to say I have no faith in Craig Mazin. Chernobyl is one of the finest pieces of television this century, and his contribution to HBO’s interpretation of The Last of Us was certainly successful in its first season, even if the jury is definitely still out on its much more divisive season two and whatever becomes of its next chapter. But the adaptation of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic tale crucially had a strong connection to the games at the top of its call sheet: Neil Druckmann. Though the co-creator has since left the show to focus on future games, there’s no denying that his presence on HBO’s The Last of Us helped keep it tied to the vision and philosophy of the games.

A similar point can be made regarding the highly successful Fallout TV series on Prime Video. Again, a name synonymous with the games was there to root the show in the very detailed canon of such a unique apocalyptic world: Todd Howard. Indeed, Fallout may be a much more appropriate comparison to what HBO is trying to achieve with its Baldur’s Gate show, as Mazin’s project is not attempting to recreate a story one-to-one, but further building out a universe that players already love, while throwing in familiar faces and places along the way. Fallout successfully manages to tell its own story, but also gleefully expands on and references existing lore to great effect. That is, presumably, what the Baldur’s Gate show hopes to achieve, too.

I don’t think there’s much doubt that both The Last of Us and Fallout have been two of the most successful attempts at translating a video game world to the small screen, so it just makes sense to me to follow that established blueprint and consult Larian on what makes its world so special. I have no doubt that Mazin is a huge fan, and he can certainly write top-tier television, but in order to make sure that this continuation of Baldur’s Gate 3’s story holds the same magic as the genre-defining RPG does, it would be foolish to not involve the Belgian studio in some way. Don’t let the magic those teams concocted over the past decade disappear into the air – there’s simply no need to create it all from scratch once again.

“Don’t abandon hope, but do expect the world. That’s the job”, are Douse’s final words, at least for now, on the announcement. And they ring true. Larian has set the bar incredibly high when it comes to telling stories in this world, and it would certainly be a risky dice roll from HBO to proceed without the modifier of the studio being there to help guide the process.

Time will only tell, though, on how much Larian ends up being involved in the Baldur’s Gate show. But with Mazin still gearing up to start shooting the third, and now likely final, season of The Last of Us, it certainly seems we’re a few years away from knowing how successfully it will follow in the footsteps of the game. For now, I live in hope. But then again, I’m somewhat of a doomed optimist.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.