What Is Divinity, the Teased New Project From Baldur’s Gate 3 Studio Larian?

If you hadn’t already heard, there’s a weird, spiky monolith successful the Mojave Desert. Adorned with a monolithic eye-like orb and a legion of demonic creatures, it’s a hint astatine thing owed to beryllium revealed arsenic portion of The Game Awards 2025. And, pursuing the registration of a fewer caller trademarks, it seems similar we already person the reply arsenic to what it is: a marque caller crippled from Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios called “Divinity”.

If you are 1 of the millions of players who archetypal learned of Larian done the gargantuan occurrence of Baldur’s Gate 3, past the connection Divinity whitethorn not mean overmuch to you. Fans of the studio, however, volition archer you that BG3’s occurrence is rooted successful Divinity, a bid of six games that Larian worked connected astir exclusively betwixt 2002 and 2017. If this monolith and trademark leak truly bash constituent towards Divinity, past the Belgian workplace is returning to its archetypal phantasy universe… and apt bringing a full caller fanbase on with it.

If specified a currently-very-much-hypothetical crippled would people your archetypal foray into the Divinity universe, past you whitethorn privation a speedy primer connected what to expect. Let america beryllium your usher to Divinity, and beryllium the archetypal to (very pre-emptively) say…

Welcome to Rivellon

Much similar however Baldur’s Gate takes spot successful the Dungeons & Dragons mounting of the Forgotten Realms, Divinity has its ain rich, archetypal setting: the satellite of Rivellon. There are wide similarities betwixt the two; some are rooted successful Tolkienesque phantasy tropes, with classically styled medieval landscapes and locations. There are aggregate races; similar successful D&D, you tin expect to conscionable humans, elves, dwarves, lizard-like beings, and the surviving dead. Magic is commonplace successful Rivellon, though sorcery is considered much unsafe and is much heavy regulated determination than it is connected D&D’s Sword Coast.

Like Baldur’s Gate, Divinity besides features a fig of much esoteric elements, from steampunk to sci-fi and beyond, that marque its satellite a small quirkier than the lands explored successful much accepted phantasy similar The Lord of the Rings. Rivellon tin besides often beryllium a precise silly place, and the power of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels has often been felt successful Divinity’s writing. In fact, Terry’s daughter, Rhianna Pratchett, adjacent wrote a tie-in novella for the 2nd game. But that’s not to accidental Rivellon is frivolous – there’s a heavy vein of fascinating lore that has been mined implicit the series’ six installments.

In short, Rivellon is the signifier for stories akin to those you enjoyed successful Baldur’s Gate 3, but is beholden lone to Larian’s rules, alternatively than those acceptable by the owners of Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast.

What is Divinity?

Divinity is an RPG series, but its improvement has been acold from usual. Take a speedy look astatine each of the six games, and you’ll find astatine slightest 4 antithetic approaches. Divine Divinity, the precise archetypal crippled successful the series, and its sequel, Beyond Divinity, are Diablo-influenced enactment RPGs. Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, meanwhile, is simply a third-person RPG that feels a little closer to the likes of Dragon Age and The Witcher. Divinity: Dragon Commander is simply a slightly Total War-flavoured strategy game, and the Original Sin duology – the astir caller games successful the bid – are classic-style RPGs that carnivore the astir resemblance to Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian has experimented wildly implicit the years, and truthful there’s nary wide denotation arsenic to what format the adjacent crippled successful the bid volition usage (although considering the occurrence of Baldur’s Gate 3, the sensible stake would beryllium connected thing similar).

Another antithetic constituent is its attack to the timeline. While Rivellon does person a coherent past and storylines that are threaded crossed the series, each crippled is acceptable years (sometimes adjacent centuries) apart, meaning each 1 is thing of a standalone experience. Similar to however Baldur's Gate 3 demands nary acquisition of the bid but has plentifulness of nods to the 2 earlier games, you tin play Divinity: Original Sin 2 without immoderate acquisition of its predecessors. I fishy immoderate aboriginal crippled successful the bid would proceed this tradition, particularly since Larian present has a legion of caller fans who are unfamiliar with the studio’s erstwhile work. If the leaked trademark is to beryllium believed, this caller task is simply called “Divinity” – a sanction that has apt been chosen since it comes with nary proposition that you request to person played aggregate different games.

What Does “Divinity” Mean?

The caller Divinity logo, trademarked up of The Game Awards 2025.

Divinity’s sanction is drawn from its foundational lore. Thousands of years earlier the events of Divine Divinity, the archetypal crippled successful the series, Rivellon’s ruling body, the Council of Seven, sacrificed themselves to support the realm from evil wizards. The “Divine Order” was established successful remembrance and assigned to walk connected their cognition to the adjacent generations.

By the events of Divine Divinity, a prophecy tells of a messiah who volition support Rivellon from the adjacent existential threat, a demon called Chaos. That messiah, it turns out, is you, and you ascend to go Lucian the Divine – a quality that goes connected to marque appearances successful Divinity 2: Ego Draconis and Divinity: Original Sin 2. The conception of the Divine is often explored successful the stories, though it’s not the cardinal absorption of each and each game.

How Similar is Divinity to Baldur’s Gate 3?

Since the bid has changed truthful overmuch implicit its lifetime, astir of the Divinity bid is really beauteous antithetic from what Larian created with Baldur’s Gate 3. However, the Original Sin duology is precise intelligibly the blueprint for BG3. These are isometric RPGs acceptable crossed aggregate regions, with tactical turn-based combat and a akin “hands-off” attack to quest design.

While some are worthy playing, Original Sin 2 is by acold the astir accomplished, some successful presumption of gameplay extent and communicative strength. It is wherever Larian pioneered the “origin story” characters that would aboriginal go the heroes of Baldur’s Gate 3, and Rivellon’s reply to the likes of Astarion, Gale, and Shadowheart are conscionable arsenic brilliantly written. It’s besides the crippled successful which the workplace established “tags”, the strategy that provides character-specific dialog options to assistance you amended roleplay your circumstantial contention oregon class.

Perhaps the Original Sin duology’s astir lauded strategy is its elemental effects – formed a rainfall spell to marque thing wet, and past usage a lightning quality to behaviour energy done that sodden surface. Tip implicit an lipid tube to make a puddle, and past sprout a flaming arrow into it to make a blaze. Stab an enemy, frost their blood, and ticker them gaffe connected their ain icy innards. Much of this elemental interplay made it into Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s overmuch much pronounced successful Original Sin. Expect astatine slightest a 4th of your battles to effect successful arena-wide bonfires.

How to Play the Divinity Games successful Order

As antecedently mentioned, the timeline gaps that abstracted the Divinity games mean determination are nary strictly direct sequels, and you tin much oregon little play them successful immoderate bid you choose. If you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 and are looking to larn much astir Divinity, I’d lone genuinely urge playing Original Sin 2, which is wide regarded arsenic the champion successful the series. Initially a PC exclusive, it is present disposable connected PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and adjacent iPad. But if you truly bash privation to delve into the lore and research the full timeline, this is however you’d request to tackle the series:

Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013)

• A expansive strategy crippled acceptable thousands of years anterior to the events of the RPGs.

Divinity: Original Sin (2014)

• A CRPG with turn-based combat, acceptable 1000 years earlier the archetypal game, focused connected a brace of “Source Hunters” tracking down unsafe magic users.

Divine Divinity (2002)

• A Diablo-like ARPG that chronicles the ascension of Lucian the Divine.

Beyond Divinity (2004)

• The ARPG sequel to Divine Divinity, acceptable 20 years later, tells the communicative of 1 of Lucian’s servants, who has been soulbound to an evil Death Knight.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (2017)

• A CRPG that’s a sequel to Original Sin successful presumption of crippled design, but takes spot aft the archetypal 2 games and deals with an outbreak of “Voidwoken” monsters successful Rivellon.

Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (2009)

• A 3D enactment RPG acceptable decades aft Lucian’s ascension, during an epoch erstwhile the Divine’s adoptive lad has go a tyrant, successful which you play arsenic a knight who tin alteration into a dragon.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.