Is Baldur’s Gate 3 an Indie Game?

With Larian’s decision to develop and self-publish BG3 without an official publishing company, we’re left to wonder about the definition of indie games. The technicalities of the indie tag get even weirder when we consider that Dave the Diver isn’t an independent title. So is Baldur’s Gate 3 an indie game?

Does Baldur’s Gate 3 Fall Under the Indie Game Category?

Technically, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an indie game. The textbook definition of indie games says that when the developer team imports all their artistic visions into a product without the profit-oriented decisions or influence of an official publishing company the game can be considered an indie game.

Larian, having developed and self-published Baldur’s Gate 3 without such influences, can technically call BG3 an indie game in isolation. This is a hilarious notion to think about when it comes to The Game Awards of 2024 where we could have had our favorite D&D CRPG along with Cocoon, Dave the Diver, Dredge, etc.

Interestingly, since Dave the Diver’s developers Mint Rocket are a small team within a much larger high-profit South Korean company called Nexon, Dave the Diver technically isn’t an independent game. It’s a wild world we live in where Baldur’s Gate 3 is, by definition, an indie game, and Dave the Diver isn’t.

Is Baldur’s Gate 3 an Indie Game By Community Standards?

That said, the tag “indie game” goes much deeper than just having an independent studio as its defining factor. In terms of the video game community standards, indie games are traditionally developed by a smaller team and generally on a lower budget. We’ve come to associate indie games with 2D and pixel art aesthetics to a degree and while they’re much broader than that, studio size and budget are community-accepted factors.

Following those definitions, Baldur’s Gate 3 can’t really be called an indie game by community standards having been developed by a massive high-budget company like Larian with several hundreds of employees. It’s also important to note that Larian has worked with publishers before and 30% of Larian is technically owned by Tencent. So while BG3 is an independently-developed masterpiece of impressive scale it’s much more of a AAA title than an indie one.

The community definition of indie games has shifted to smaller teams working with a tight and limited budget to produce awesome games at a lower price point. And while BG3 certainly delivers on the passion and artistic vision of indie games, it’s practically a competitor to Elden Ring, God of War, and other massive AAA titles.

So is Baldur’s Gate 3 an indie game? By textbook definition? Yes! By community standards? Not really. If you’re interested in more Baldur’s Gate 3 articles, check out 10 BG3 rules and mechanics that D&D 5e desperately needs.