Baldur's Gate 3 Announced For PC And Google Stadia, Teaser Trailer Provides First Look

Following last week's teaser, Divinity: Original Sin 2 developer Larian Studios dropped a pre-E3 bombshell: Baldur's Gate 3.

Larian confirmed the hotly-anticipated game on Google's Stadia stream today, revealing its planned release for the new service and PC. The company provided a first look at the game via an announcement trailer, setting the stage for what is shaping up to be a gruesome jaunt through Forgotten Realms.

"An ancient evil has returned to Baldur's Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out. The fate of Faerûn lies in your hands. Alone, you may resist. But together, you can overcome," said the accompanying Twitter caption.

The ancient evil in question are the illithids, also known as "mind flayers." These sadistic aberrations possess potent psionic powers, which they use to establish dominion over other creatures, enslaving them and devouring their brains. At the height of their power, the illithids ruled a vast astral empire; however, their glory days have long passed. Based on the trailer, the Cthulhu-esque entities seem intent on reclaiming their lost prestige. 

Mind flayers were once able to travel between worlds using nautiloids, bizarre flying crafts resembling conch shells. Over time, the illithids lost the knowledge needed to construct new nautiloids, hampering their ability to invade new worlds. In Baldur's Gate 3, it looks like their fortunes have changed."Those are big problems," said Larian CEO Swen Vincke in an interview with PC Gamer. "They want to restore their empire, so we see the mind flayers invading a city, with a nautaloid, so you can imagine what might happen — but it's not what you'll expect!"

Vincke also revealed that Baldur's Gate 3 would use a modified version of the mechanics from D&D 5th Edition, with several alterations made to improve quality of life. "You miss a lot in D&D — if the dice are bad, you miss. That doesn't work well in a videogame," he stated. "Our approach has been implementing it as pure as we can, and then just seeing what works and what doesn't."

Baldur's Gate 3 has yet to receive a release date.