Larian games will not be released in signature services, says the head of the company Sven Vinka

Earlier this week, the head of the UBISOFT subscription department, Philip Trouble, caused a lot of disputes, saying that gamers should get used to the fact that "do not own their games". The head of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the general director of Larian Studios, Sven Vink did not agree with this, saying that "You will not find our games on the subscription service".

Whatever the future of the games, content will always be king, – wrote to Winka in X. But it will be much more difficult to get good content if the subscription becomes a dominant model and the chosen group will decide what will enter the market and what is not. Direct transmission of content from the developer to players is what to do.

According to Vinka, the subscription models "will always be reduced to the cost analysis and benefits aimed at maximizing profit". At the same time, Vinka does not mind if other developers want to use subscription services, just Larian games, such as BG3, will not be released in them, because he wants another ecosystem – when the developer directly provides the game to the players – the living remains alive.

There is nothing wrong with this, but this cannot become a monopoly of signature services. We are all already dependent on the chosen group of platforms of digital distribution, and openness is a cruel thing. If all these platforms switch to a subscription, this will become wild. As a result "Preferences of the Subscription Service will determine which games will be created.

You will not find our games in the subscription service, although I respect the fact that for many developers it is an opportunity to make your game. I have no problems with this. I just want to make sure that another ecosystem will not die, because it is very valuable.

It is difficult to argue with this, given the huge success of Baldur’s Gate 3. She went out in early access in 2020 and was published by Larian itself, and this level of control helped Larian to release one of the most successful and commercial games of 2023. BG3 and Larian – proof that we do not need subscription services so that the games see the light, and that often allow the people who make the game, sell it, works no worse.