Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is a magnificent CRPG, and the incredible dense narrative adventure is set for its Nintendo Switch 2 release on December 11, 2025. Rogue Trader has been a huge success for Owlcat Games, one of the few studios still making CRPGs today, but its impossible to deny that the genre has one clear leader right now: Baldur’s Gate 3.
In an interview with FRVR, brand manager Anton Emelyanov explained that Baldur’s Gate 3 is not competition for Owlcat Games, but an ally as the game has helped bring the CRPG genre back into the limelight with millions of players. Instead of jumping tracks to follow in the footsteps of Larian, the runaway success of BG3 proves that those still working in the genre are on the right path.
“Major successes in the genre reaffirm that there is a large audience for deep, story-driven CRPGs,” 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.”
“The genre is moving toward deeper reactivity, stronger systemic storytelling, and more accessible onboarding without sacrificing complexity.”
Owlcat brand manager Anton Emelyanov
Nevertheless, the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 has proven where the genre is heading, and Owlcat is very aware of what modern audiences want and expect from games following the release of Larian’s juggernaut RPG.
“The genre is moving toward deeper reactivity, stronger systemic storytelling, and more accessible onboarding without sacrificing complexity,” the Owlcat manager explained. “We expect to see better integration of player choice into moment-to-moment gameplay rather than isolated narrative beats. At Owlcat, we aim to continue improving reactivity, companion depth, and gameplay systems that meaningfully respond to player decisions and increase immersion.”
For Emelyanov, the core of the genre as a whole relies on multiple pillars: “choice and consequence, strong companions, and writing.” Alongside this, a true great in the genre also need “deep mechanical systems… since many players enjoy experimentation and complex builds”, but at the end of the day world building, characters and strong stories will always be the core of what makes a CRPG engaging.
For Owlcat, the studio is working largely in established IP now with Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy and the upcoming The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. “World-building is essential to the experience [of a good CRPG] and working within an established IP actually gives us a rich foundation to build on: abundant references, clear guidelines, and a cohesive universe that helps us tell new stories while keeping everything consistent,” they explained.
While the CRPG genre largely disappeared during the late 2000s and early 2010s, it has come back with a vengenace. Games like Disco Elysium, Baldur’s Gate 3, Divinity, Rogue Trader and Pathfinder have proven that there is a hunger for dense games, so much so that they’re even inspiring AAA titles.
Alongside the new port of Rogue Trader, Owlcat’s Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy has just launched in Alpha on Steam.
