After the record-shattering success of Baldur’s Gate 3, it seems Larian Studios is ready to take fans back to Rivellon for an upgraded journey. Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition was first released back in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Now, seven years later, fans may finally get a native next-gen edition if a new Pan-European Game Information rating is to be believed.
While getting an audience rating before release is standard fare, Larian has yet to announce any Divinity-related projects, so the cat seems to have scrambled its way out of the bag this time around. PEGI is the European equivalent to America’s ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) and is responsible for attaching audience ratings to upcoming games. This alleged enhanced version of the game was given an 18+ tag, with one scene, in particular, getting flagged for featuring crucifixion. Anyone who has played it knows that’s only one drop in the pool for a game full of grim content.
This all comes as quite the surprise, given Larian’s insistence on moving forward and building something new in the wake of Baldur’s Gate 3. However, rebuilding an already-beloved game by using the improved tools of its successor makes all the sense in the world.
If you’re unfamiliar, Divinity: Original Sin 2 was the studio’s last title before entering development on BG3, and its success is largely why Hasbro teamed up with the highly heralded RPG developer. Baldur’s Gate fans will instantly feel at home stepping into the game for the first time. The two titles share so much of the same skeleton, placing players in a sprawling, isometric adventure, where they can either create their own unique character or pick from a handful of “origin” options, with both paths containing unique interactions and dialogue. All of the twisting narrative paths, heartfelt NPC interactions, and destructible environments (and status effects) from Baldur’s Gate were also first mastered in DOS2.
As exciting as this is for longtime fans, it gets even better. This is likely only an appetizer for Larian’s future. We still don’t know anything definitive about their next game, but comments from founder Swen Vincke suggest whatever’s next will be worth getting excited over. That’s a tall task, but given the studio has delivered three critical darlings in a row, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Unfortunately, that next game is likely still years away and players will just have to bide their time for now—which is pretty easy given BG3 is still getting post-launch support (including regular Mod Manager updates for console players.)
As of now, we don’t have any insights about a release date for the Definitive Edition (or whether or not players who own the last-gen edition will be getting a free/discounted upgrade), but it surely won’t be long before official confirmation starts to roll out. All in all, this unexpected drop is an excellent consolation prize for anyone chomping at the bit for some more Larian magic.
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Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/divinity-original-sin-2-definitive-edition-leaked/