The internet is doing what it does best right now: freaking out. Baldur’s Gate, the fantasy game series that absolutely dominated 2023 with over 20 million copies sold and a clean sweep of all five major Game of the Year awards, is getting the TV treatment. And yes, it’s Craig Mazin at the helm, the same guy who brought us The Last of Us and Chernobyl.
Sounds exciting, right? Well, not everyone’s convinced.
The Larian Problem
Here’s where things get sticky. Larian Studios, the developer that poured their hearts into making Baldur’s Gate 3 one of the most critically acclaimed games in recent memory, won’t be directly involved in this adaptation. And fans are understandably nervous about that.
The technology behind game adaptations has come a long way, but there’s something different about having the original creators in the room. When Mazin worked on The Last of Us, he had Neil Druckmann right there with him. That collaboration showed. Now, he’s flying solo on this one, and the fanbase is questioning whether that’s the right call.
Larian founder Swen Vincke posted what can only be described as a diplomatically worded message on X, saying the team hopes the show “will enjoy the same level of passion” they put into the game. Translation? We’ll see what happens, fingers crossed.
Why Fans Are Nervous
Let’s be real here. The second season of The Last of Us drew some criticism for creative choices that didn’t sit well with everyone. Now Mazin’s taking on another beloved property, this time without the developers who understand every narrative thread, every character beat, every world-building detail that made Baldur’s Gate 3 special.
One fan put it perfectly: it might feel like “a familiar face with a stranger’s heart.” That’s the fear, isn’t it? That someone who doesn’t intimately know these characters will reshape them into something that technically resembles Baldur’s Gate but misses what made it magical.
Mazin claims he’s put nearly 1,000 hours into the game and calls himself a devoted D&D fan. That’s great. Really. But playing a game and understanding how to translate its essence to screen are two completely different skills.
The Business Side Changes Everything
Here’s the part that matters from a business perspective: Larian doesn’t own Baldur’s Gate. Wizards of the Coast does, and they’re a subsidiary of Hasbro. Larian licensed the IP to make Baldur’s Gate 3, which means the TV show can legally happen without them lifting a finger.
This is how the entertainment industry works, sure, but it doesn’t make fans feel any better about it. The people who made the thing you love don’t get a say in how it’s adapted because they don’t own the rights. Corporate structure strikes again.
The show will pick up right after the events of the last game, which is both exciting and terrifying considering Baldur’s Gate 3 reportedly has nearly 17,000 different ending variations. How do you choose which version of events becomes canon? That’s a minefield waiting to explode.
Can Passion Be Enough?
Eurogamer journalist Vikki Blake suggests fans should be cautiously optimistic. Mazin wouldn’t take this on unless he felt confident he understood the world, right? And he did reach out to Vincke for a chat, so there’s at least some communication happening.
But cautious optimism is exactly what this deserves. Nothing more, nothing less. We’ve seen fantastic game adaptations recently with Fallout and The Last of Us, both of which brought development team members into the process. Setting that precedent makes it harder to accept when a new adaptation skips that step.
Mazin says he plans to reach out to the original voice cast with ideas for participation, which is something. But voice actors showing up for cameos isn’t the same as having the creative minds who shaped the narrative guiding the story’s next chapter.
The question isn’t whether Mazin has the talent to pull this off, it’s whether anyone outside Larian can truly capture what made Baldur’s Gate 3 resonate so deeply with millions of players who saw themselves and their choices reflected in its sprawling, consequence-heavy narrative.
