Larian Studios has established telework and acknowledges that there have been problems, although development continues and productivity has not been dramatically reduced.
If anything has become clear in recent weeks, it is that the coronavirus epidemic has affected the situation of people, which has also had an impact on the economic sector. After the delay of several video games, with The Last of Us Part 2 and Death Stranding (PC) as more recent examples, anything is possible. At Larian Studios they continue with the intention of launching the early access of Baldur's Gate 3 sometime in 2020. This has been confirmed by Swen Vincke, the head of the study, in statements to The New York Times.
According to Larian's estimates, the company operates with a productivity of 70 or 80% compared to the normal situation, at least for now. "Development continues," says Vincke. "We are just going slower." During the first days of the quarantine, Larian Studios, which is based in Belgium but has employees in five countries, established teleworking like many other companies.
The problems started later
“The first week went very well. Everyone had the information they needed to work quietly from home, "he says. Problems began to surface in the following weeks. The American newspaper says that parents had to work with their children next to them and that other employees were forced to carry out their activity at different times than usual, which reduced productivity and led to communication problems. In addition, Larian's partners also had to work remotely or close their doors, making everything slower.
"We started to see more stress in terms of communication," says Vincke. "We spend days communicating, trying to solve problems, organizing things and giving instructions."
Baldur's Gate 3 is in development for PC and Google Stadia. The play, whose gameplay was introduced a few months ago, will tell a new story within the universe of the Forgotten Realms, always taking into account the previous chapters of BioWare. The new from Larian Studios will follow the line of the Divinity: Original Sin saga and will be launched first in early access, with the idea of progressively improving the product.
