Excalibur was never presented as a fully defined game.

When Vincke discussed the project in 2024, Larian was still experimenting with different ideas. He explicitly warned that anyone claiming to know exactly what the game would become was getting ahead of the development process.

That makes the Excalibur codename important, but not because it represented a confirmed sci-fi universe or a finalized gameplay formula.

It represented Larian's experimentation after Baldur's Gate 3.

The studio had already demonstrated that it could take the traditional party-based RPG formula and turn it into a huge systemic experience. Excalibur was the name attached to the next step in that experimentation.

🌌 The Sci-Fi Rumors Don't Match the Reveal

One of the biggest problems with the current Excalibur rumor cycle is the assumption that the project became a science-fiction RPG.

There is no official evidence supporting that.

Instead, Larian's eventual announcement confirmed that its next major game is Divinity, a new entry set in Rivellon, the fantasy world established by the studio's earlier Divinity games.

The announcement trailer reinforced that direction with a dark fantasy setting involving mysterious rituals, supernatural forces and a disturbing transformation.

Larian also described Divinity as a brand-new game, meaning players do not need to know the previous Divinity games to approach it. Returning players, however, can find additional continuity with the older games.

⚔️ Is Larian Really Ditching Turn-Based Combat?

This is another area where the rumor goes further than the evidence.

Larian has not confirmed that Divinity is abandoning turn-based combat for real-time tactical pause.

There is an interesting history behind the speculation, though.

When Larian developed Baldur's Gate 3, the studio deliberately chose turn-based combat rather than the real-time-with-pause system used by the original Baldur's Gate games.

Larian developers previously explained that they felt turn-based combat was a better fit for D&D and had become one of the studio's strengths.

That makes any future change in combat philosophy interesting, but there is currently no official confirmation that Divinity uses real-time tactical pause.

Until Larian shows actual gameplay, claims about its combat system should remain speculation.

🧠 Why a Combat Change Would Matter

If Larian eventually did experiment with real-time combat, it would represent a meaningful shift for the studio.

Turn-based combat gives players time to consider positioning, abilities, environmental interactions and party composition.

Real-time-with-pause systems work differently.

Combat continues until the player pauses the action, creating a faster rhythm while still allowing tactical decision-making.

Larian already has experience experimenting with different RPG systems, and Vincke has repeatedly described the studio as iterative and willing to try new ideas.

But there is a big difference between Larian experimenting internally and Larian officially changing its combat system.

For now, only the former is established.

🌎 Returning to Rivellon

The biggest confirmed change from the Excalibur speculation is actually the setting.

Rather than taking Larian into an entirely new science-fiction universe, Divinity brings the studio back to Rivellon.

Larian describes the game as a new title that builds on the studio's long history with the Divinity series while remaining accessible to people who have never played the previous games.

That gives Larian something useful after Baldur's Gate 3.

The studio doesn't have to build an entirely new fantasy foundation from scratch, but it also isn't making Divinity: Original Sin 3.

It's using a familiar universe as the foundation for something substantially new.

🏗️ Larian's Biggest Game Yet

The scale of the project is another reason it deserves attention.

Larian has described Divinity as its most ambitious game yet, while The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley characterized it as larger than Baldur's Gate 3.

That is a significant statement considering the size and complexity of Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 demonstrated how far Larian could push:

• Reactive environments
• Party relationships
• Branching choices
• Character freedom
• Systemic gameplay
• Cinematic storytelling
• Huge amounts of player choice

The interesting question is no longer whether Larian can make another massive RPG.

It's how much further the studio can take its formula now that it has the resources and experience gained from Baldur's Gate 3.

🔮 What Happens Next?

For now, Larian is keeping Divinity's gameplay details extremely close to the chest.

The studio has shown the world, tone and ambition, but it has not announced a release date or gameplay showcase.

That means several frequently repeated claims should remain in the rumor category:

Not confirmed:

• A sci-fi setting
• Real-time tactical-pause combat
• A Q1 release window
• Specific combat mechanics
• A release date
• A playable gameplay demonstration

What is confirmed is much more interesting than a fabricated feature list.

Larian is making a new Divinity game, it is set in Rivellon, and the studio considers it its most ambitious project yet.

🔗 Official Divinity Website

Want to see what Larian has officially revealed so far? The official Divinity website has the announcement trailer, press materials, and the latest information directly from Larian Studios. Visit the official Divinity website.

🎮 The Bottom Line

The Excalibur story turned out differently from what many fans expected.

What began as a mysterious codename for one of Larian's post-Baldur's Gate 3 projects eventually became Divinity, a new RPG returning to the studio's own fantasy universe.

There is currently no solid evidence that Excalibur was a sci-fi RPG or that Larian has officially abandoned turn-based combat for real-time tactical pause.

And that's actually what makes the project interesting.

Larian spent years experimenting behind the scenes before finally revealing where that experimentation led: back to Rivellon, but with the ambition to build something even bigger than Baldur's Gate 3.

What would you rather see from Larian next: another evolution of turn-based combat, or a completely different RPG combat system?