Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 has proven itself as the gold standard of the modern CRPG. While sales are still strong for the game following the announcement of Divinity, the game’s own success has also caused fans to look back to the past and pick up the first two entries in the series.

Alongside our huge interview surrounding the continued efforts for preserving the classic Infinity Engine games and the challenges of game preservation, CEO Trent Oster and Live Ops Producer Derek French revealed that the classic Infinity Engine games have seen a boost in players due to the release of Larian’s RPG.

As Baldur’s Gate 3 took the world by storm, many also picked up the original BioWare duology to play through for the first time or even re-experience. The duo explained that “there is always a ‘halo effect with these kinds of things”, explaining that there has been a sizeable increase in sales surrounding every BG3 milestone.

“Baldur’s Gate III is announced, and we notice an uptick in players on the Infinity Engine games,” they explained. “BG3 was released, and we saw another uptick.” As Larian’s modern CRPG continued on its journey with major updates, the older Infinity Engine games have continued to find new fans.

Now, you don’t really have to play Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2 to understand Larian’s story, although there are returning characters. Additionally, the gameplay isn’t identical with major changes between the two generations of CRPGS. However, the Beamdog team celebrates Larian’s adventure for bringing new faces to the classic games that they work so hard to preserve.

“As a whole, Baldur’s Gate III opened the gates of Faerûn to millions of new players, introducing them to D&D, its rich lore, and the iconic characters and events of this legendary series,” they said. “It’s no surprise that many of them felt inspired to revisit the classic games, eager to learn what adventures shaped heroes like Minsc and Jaheira long before BG3. As many have discovered, there are some great stories that made BGIII possible.”

Oster and French aren’t alone in their praise of Larian’s work with other developers of modern CRPGs praising the studio for shining a spotlight on CRPGs. Owlcat, the studio behind Pathfinder, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader explained in a prior interview with FRVR (that’s us) that the game has been an important milestone for the genre as a whole.

“Major successes in the genre reaffirm that there is a large audience for deep, story-driven CRPGs,” Owlcat brand manager Anton Emelyanov said. “They don’t change our direction, but they strengthen our confidence that investing in complex systems and narrative depth is worthwhile. It’s motivating to see the genre thrive. We’re also very glad that BG3 and our games have rekindled many players’ love for CRPGs and introduced the genre to entirely new audiences.”

As Beamdog continues to work on under-the-hood improvements to the Infinity Engine, BioWare and Black Isle’s classic games will be preserved for years to come. The team’s latest update brings better translation support to the game, allowing more players around the world to experience the CRPGs that inspired Larian to make their entry in the first place.