James Ohlen Rejects Baldur's Gate 4 Offer as BG3 Tops 20 Million Sales
Updated
Updated · Video Games Chronicle · Jun 30
James Ohlen Rejects Baldur's Gate 4 Offer as BG3 Tops 20 Million Sales
3 articles · Updated · Video Games Chronicle · Jun 30
Summary
James Ohlen told PC Gamer he turned down Hasbro CEO Chris Cox’s approach to make Baldur’s Gate 4, saying he would fail trying to follow Baldur’s Gate 3.
BG3’s 20 million-plus sales and unusually high critical acclaim drove that view, with Ohlen calling direct competition with Larian’s hit “insanity.”
Ohlen said the technical burden was another deterrent: building the engine and tools needed for a comparable RPG would mean “at least half a decade of horror.”
At the time, Ohlen and Baldur’s Gate 2 co-lead Kevin Martens were working at Archetype Entertainment on Exodus, part of a broader $1 billion Hasbro games push; Exodus is due in 2027.
Larian, which built BG3 on its Divinity 4.0 engine, has already moved on to the next Divinity project revealed at The Game Awards 2025.