The long-awaited launch of Baldur’s Gate 3 marked a significant milestone for Larian Studios, but not without some crunch from developers in the final stretch. In a refreshingly candid admission, studio founder Swen Vincke revealed the epic RPG’s complexity necessitated a period of overtime work, though far less than what the team experienced on previous projects.
“It would be a lie to say we didn’t [crunch],” Vincke stated bluntly during a Q&A session at the recent Digital Dragons conference. “We had things happen that we didn’t foresee.”
For the unfamiliar, “crunch” is an insidious industry reality where game developers are essentially required to work extended overtime hours, often with little additional compensation, as deadlines loom. The unhealthy practice has been increasingly scrutinized in recent years as reports of extreme crunch conditions like months of 70-100 hour work weeks have surfaced.
Larian has firsthand experience with this issue. Vincke acknowledged that crunch was much more prevalent during the making of past hits like Divinity: Original Sin 2. But for the highly-anticipated Baldur’s Gate 3, a conscious effort was made to implement policies aimed at easing that burden.
One key factor was Larian’s worldwide network of studios structured to provide around-the-clock coverage. This allowed the team to avoid situations where individual developers felt compelled to pull all-nighters simply to resolve an issue that popped up late.
Vincke noted that crunch culture was virtually non-existent at the company after 8pm, with overtime paid for any work required beyond that. He added that weekend hours were also “very, very, very rarely” mandated during BG3’s grueling final development stages.
“We didn’t overly crunch, but we did have to do a bit of crunch,” Vincke qualified. “And I think, to be honest, you will always have a little bit when you’re trying to finish something, especially when there’s so much complexity that needs to be brought together.”
Indeed, as an open-ended role-playing epic with an astonishing degree of player freedom made possible through Larian’s innovative interactive simulation systems, Baldur’s Gate 3 represented one of the most intricate and ambitious video game projects in recent memory. Some degree of overtime as developers raced to squash remaining bugs and integrate all the disparate pieces was likely inevitable.
Still, Vincke’s admissions demonstrate a self-awareness and commitment from Larian to mitigate the worst excesses of crunch that have become all too common, particularly among major AAA game releases. No amount of brilliant gameplay can truly justify subjecting teams to months of relentless, dehumanizing schedules.
As the Belgian studio now shifts focus to itsomething two mystery projects in the wake of Baldur’s Gate 3’s launch, it will be interesting to see if Larian can maintain its more sustainable approach to overtime during critical periods. Clearly, Vincke recognizes the immense strain this practice places on developers and is striving to lighten that load through improved planning and processes.
For an industry still grappling with reforming its crunch culture, Larian’s relative transparency and proactive measures could set a positive example for achieving a healthier work-life balance – even when tackling gaming’s most colossal creative undertakings.
