Commanding a controlling majority of Larian Studios' shares, charismatic founder, CEO, and Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke can now likely buy all the armour he likes, maybe even a castle or two. While it should come as no surprise to learn that the masterful D&D sequel was huge for the plucky, independent Belgian studio, we never knew how big; until now, that is.
Taking advantage of the liberal tax laws in Ireland, Larian posted profits via a Dublin-based holding company (thanks, IGN). According to the paywalled Irish Independent, Larian enjoyed a whopping €249 million (approx $260.9 million) pre-tax profit for 2023. Revenue for the year was at €427 million (approx $447.5 million), before expenses. Everybody loves an underdog, but this is more of a rags-to-riches situation; contrast the above figures with Larian's financials from 2022: a loss of €214,000 ($224,100), with just €22.7 million ($23.7 million) in revenue.
Maddeningly, Larian has never released firm sales numbers for Baldur's Gate 3; in February, publishing director Michael Douse intimated that the number was well north of 10 million across all platforms. Hasbro itself made off with a cool $90 million by licensing the Dungeons & Dragons IP before laying off everyone involved. It will continue to pursue future games alone after Larian walked away, literally at the top of its game.