Larian did "a bit of crunch" on Baldur's Gate 3 due to unforeseen challenges
Director Swen Vincke emphasised the team "didn't overly crunch," and staff were paid overtime
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke touched upon crunch at Digital Dragons last week, saying that while Larian's team didn't "overly crunch" during development, you "always have a little bit" of overtime when trying to finish a project of that scope.
Vincke made these comments during a Q&A at the Polish conference, as reported by GamesRadar. Answering a question about whether challenges encountered during Baldur's Gate 3's development resulted in crunch, Larian's CEO said:
"Certainly less on BG3 than we did in the past. It would be a lie to say that we didn't. We had things happen that we didn't foresee."
He mentioned Larian's structure, with its global offices relaying with each other when working on a project, often avoiding overtime falling on any one office.
But when overtime did occur, staff was paid for it (which isn't necessarily a standard in games), with offices mostly empty by 8pm and occupied "very, very, very rarely" on weekends. He added that the overtime wasn't "as long as you would consider crunch."
He said: "We didn't overly crunch, but we did have to do a bit of crunch. And I think, to be honest, you will always have a little bit when you're trying to finish something, especially when there's so much complexity that needs to be brought together."
Larian announced the opening of its seventh office in Warsaw, Poland just last week.
We talked to Vincke earlier this year about life post-Baldur's Gate 3, why the team is moving on, and solving the industry's unsustainable growth.