Why Baldur’s Gate 3 Isn’t Coming to Switch 2 The Hasbro Problem Explained

jamesschierer

Baldur’s Gate 3 not coming to Switch 2 isn’t about hardware power, it’s about IP ownership and a fractured relationship between Larian Studios and Hasbro. Let’s break down what really happened and why this decision matters for the future of the franchise.  Support the channel and check out my Patreon for exclusive content, including the latest Patron Exclusive on one-hit wonder games that deserved a sequel: 👉 https://www.patreon.com/cw/JamesSchierer

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00:00Today we need to talk about why Baldur's Gate 3 is not coming to the Switch 2, and no, this isn't

00:05just another story about weak hardware or technical limitations. This is a story about

00:10business relationships, IP ownerships, and how one of the greatest RPGs ever made is now stuck

00:16in a complicated corporate situation. When people first heard that Larian Studios wouldn't be

00:21bringing Baldur's Gate 3 to Nintendo's next console, the immediate assumption was that the

00:25Switch 2 simply couldn't handle it because Baldur's Gate 3 is massive, it's complex, it's

00:30system heavy, and even the Xbox Series S had issues running it at launch, but when you look

00:35deeper, it becomes clear that the real reason was far less to do with power and far more

00:40to do with Hasbro, the company that owns the Dungeons & Dragons IP. Baldur's Gate is not

00:45Larian's franchise, even though they created the definitive modern entry in the series,

00:50and that distinction is everything because it means every port, every sequel, and every

00:54major decision has to pass through Hasbro first. After Baldur's Gate 3 launched and

01:00became an enormous success, winning awards, breaking sales records, and bringing an entirely

01:05new generation of players into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, you would think Hasbro and

01:10Larian would lock arms and plan a future together. But instead, Larian publicly announced they were

01:15done with the franchise. No Baldur's Gate 4, no major DLC expansions, and no future D&D projects,

01:22which is an absolutely wild outcome considering the level of success the game achieved. That

01:27alone tells you something significant happened behind the scenes because companies do not

01:31walk away from a property this valuable unless the partnership itself has become a problem.

01:37Porting Baldur's Gate 3 to the Switch 2 would not be a small task. It would require months of

01:42optimization, engineering, testing, and long-term support, and that is a massive investment for

01:48a game that belongs to an IP Larian no longer wants to work with. From their perspective,

01:53it makes far more sense to put that time and money into a brand new project that they fully own

01:58where they control the direction, the platforms, the future expansions, and the long-term legacy

02:03of the game. This isn't Larian giving up. It's Larian protecting themselves creatively and financially.

02:09They already delivered a legendary RPG, and now they want to build something that doesn't come with

02:14the baggage of corporate licensing. When a developer doesn't own the IP, they don't control the future,

02:20and Baldur's Gate 3 is the perfect example of how frustrating that can be. Larian created a

02:26masterpiece, yet they cannot freely decide where it goes or what comes next without another company's

02:31approval. That kind of limitation can be creatively suffocating, especially for a studio that clearly

02:37values independence and artistic freedom. That situation also reflects poorly on Hasbro because

02:45they have lightning in a bottle. Baldur's Gate 3 didn't just sell well. It revitalized interest in

02:50Dungeons and Dragons across the world. It brought tabletop fans into gaming and gamers into tabletop.

02:56It created free marketing for the brand on a scale that most companies could only dream of.

03:01Losing the studio responsible for that success is not just unfortunate, it's a strategic failure.

03:06Even if Hasbro chooses to continue Baldur's Gate with another developer, it will never feel the

03:12same. Larian understood the soul of that game, from its writing and character death, to its

03:17mechanical complexity and player freedom. You can replace a studio on paper, but you can't replace

03:23the creative chemistry that made Baldur's Gate 3 special. For Switch 2 owners, this is a massive missed

03:28opportunity, because Baldur's Gate 3 would have been the perfect showcase RPG to prove that

03:33Nintendo's next console can handle deep, mature, hardcore gaming experiences, and instead, that

03:39door is likely closed unless Hasbro commissions a completely different team to attempt a port or

03:45re-release, which is unlikely given the cost and risk involved.

03:50What makes this story important is that it highlights the larger issue of IP ownership in the

03:54gaming industry. Larian made one of the best RPGs ever created, but they do not control its destiny.

04:00They cannot decide its future platforms, they cannot decide its sequels, and they can't even

04:06decide if it lives on through expansions without corporate approval. That's why they are walking

04:11away, not because they failed, but because they succeeded and realized that creative freedom matters

04:16more than being chained to an IP they don't own. Baldur's Gate 3 will stand as their masterpiece,

04:22but their next project will be their legacy fully controlled by them, shaped by their vision,

04:27and free from licensing complications. The Switch 2 missing out on Baldur's Gate 3 isn't a hardware

04:33failure, it's a business failure, a breakdown of partnership, and a reminder that in gaming,

04:38who owns the IP often matters just as much as who makes the game.

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