Larian CEO Underestimated Baldur’s Gate 3 At The Golden Joystick Awards

Baldur’s Gate 3 sure did have a fair bit of anticipation surrounding its full release, considering how it was in early access as far back as 2020, but no one — not even Microsoft — saw what Larian was truly cooking with the turn-based RPG. As a matter of fact, the studio CEO Swen Vincke, having gone through it all at the Golden Joystick Awards, also didn’t expect the game to win a bevy of different awards. 

Larian's reaction to Baldur's Gate 3 winning Ultimate GOTY is so wholesome@larianstudios @baldursgate3 pic.twitter.com/RhSTzhGbl3

— FutureGamesShow (@FutureGamesShow) November 17, 2023

The Golden Joystick Awards ceremony was held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, with the folks over at Larian Studios attending the event at the time of the winners’ announcement. For those not in the know, Baldur’s Gate 3 has ended up winning awards for seven different categories—a new high not just for the RPG but for any single game getting nominated at this platform. 

These include Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, Best Gaming Community, PC Game of the Year, the highly esteemed Ultimate Game of the Year, and others. Make no mistake—Baldur’s Gate 3 has done remarkably well commercially — even beyond Larian’s expectations — but the fact that Swen Vincke still thought of the competition before their own IP speaks volumes about the competition in the industry. 

I came here not expecting anything but we didn’t plan on anything. We were talking to each other earlier today, ‘So, how are we going to get rid of the depression?’ I thought PC Game of the Year was possible; I didn’t think this was going to happen because there was so much competition this year. I’ve been doing this for quite some time as you can see from my hair and there’s been very few years when there have been so many good games,” said Swen Vincke upon winning the Ultimate Game of the Year award.

Swen added that he “honestly thought” it was going to be another game when it came down to the biggest distinction of the ceremonial event, which Baldur’s Gate 3 has managed to nab as well without breaking a sweat. The Larian CEO has, however, mentioned the title that he supposed was going to be crowned the Ultimate Game of the Year award—Alan Wake 2. 

I honestly thought it was gonna be Alan Wake 2. I haven’t played it yet but I saw all the chatter about it. I saw people being ecstatic about it. So I figured it was gonna be Alan Wake 2, and if it wasn’t going to be Alan Wake 2 I thought it was going to be Zelda.”

Lastly, Swen referred to Baldur’s Gate 3 as a “PC-focused game with hardcore RPG mechanics,” thereby presuming that getting all this trophy love is nigh impossible, but here we are. For those not in the know, though, the title at hand is only available for PC and PlayStation 5 at the moment, with an Xbox Series X|S version coming later this year.

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Baldur’s Gate 3’s full-scale release traces back to August 3, 2023, for PC, with a PlayStation 5 port coming in on September 6, 2023. eXputer’s Huzaifah Duranni rated the game 5/5, calling it one of the greatest RPGs of all time for all that it brings to the table. If you’re a new player, consider checking out our guide on the Baldur’s Gate 3 best feats, including their pros and cons.