Its worth calling out this article what it really smells like it is: native advertising.

> James Berg, senior technical program manager for accessibility at Xbox, noted that the amount of dev effort put into Baldur’s Gate 3 could equal 2-3 other games in the RPG genre combined. “It’s Rockstar-level nonsense for scope. Only a few studio groups could even try this.”

This is serious, devastatingly sad levels of cope. This is one of the three most valuable companies on the planet, who just blew almost $70 billion dollars on the largest acquisition in video gaming history, comparing Baulders Gate to Rockstar, a company with over 5,000 employees making literally the most expensive games on the planet. Oh, fun fact though, Halo Infinite is also, easily, a top 5 most expensive game ever made; I bet James Berg doesn't want to remind you of that.

If the people at Larian take offense at statements like James', its justified. James, and many of the other devs/people in the replies, are essentially saying "oh its resources, I mean they've got such a structural advantage in making such a good game, it can't be skill, it can't be an intense and unique alignment of mindset and goals, its just money!".

Let's see how many other ways game developers can say "we have visionless leadership":

> Diablo IV senior designer Chris Balser also agreed with Nelson Jr., saying that it is important to remember that not all studios operate under the same conditions. He compared Baldur’s Gate 3 to Ultima VII, the favorite RPG of Larian founder Swen Vincke — “that’s a game that had 12 years of prior games feeding into it.”

I am LOSING my mind at the cringe from these game designers. Previously never before seen levels of excuse-making and cope. Let me check my notes here... Oh! Right! Diablo 1 was released in 1996! Diablo 4 definitely didn't have, checks calculator, 27 years of prior games feeding into it, let alone ELEVEN years of evolution and refinement in the previous game alone... which Blizzard basically threw out the window. (to be clear, D4 is a fine game, but there's a lot of very genuine criticism that they forgot most of what they learned with D3).

> Obsidian Entertainment design director Josh Sawyer noted that “having the foundation set and the funding to build things on your own terms is invaluable.”

Well, if Xbox not releasing a single good game in, like, four+ years didn't have you concerned for Avowed before, seems like Josh is trying to tell us that we should be. Three responses from people within Xbox Game Studios (technically!). I mean, I'm not one for identifying patterns where there may not be one, but... Xbox hasn't released a hit, exceedingly well reviewed game since... I don't even know. Flight Sim is a mainstay. Maybe Ori in 2020? Minecraft has the strongest back in the history of business, singularly keeping tens of thousands of people employed.

See, I think Rockstar is gonna keep making awesome games. Whatever Naughty Dog and SSM make next will be awesome. Nintendo? Physically incapable of making bad games, they can't do it. CDPR? They screwed up, but they still make incredible games. Its no wonder that its all the Xbox people hopping in to these threads. If there is a structural difference between Larian and other game developers, that difference is Passion, and that's it; and that speaks volumes more about Xbox and the other devs in that thread than it does about Larian. Go find a mirror, and make better games; market economics won't feel the pity you're so hoping to make us feel.