Baldur’s Gate 3 Canceled by OG Fallout Studio Due to Accounting Error, Ex-Dev Claims
Veteran designer Chris Avellone says a Black Isle-led Baldur’s Gate 3 effort in the 2000s ended over an accounting mistake. He discussed the episode during an interview with the YouTube channel TKs-Mantis.
Avellone’s recollection
Avellone recalled that Black Isle Studios had been tapped to build the next Dungeons & Dragons RPG. He said the project “got canceled because of an accounting error” and added the situation felt suspicious.
The developer suggested a payment may not have reached the right party. He framed the issue as an internal Interplay matter, since Interplay was Black Isle’s parent company and the Baldur’s Gate publisher.
Link to Van Buren and Fallout
After the Baldur project collapsed, the team quickly moved to work on Van Buren. Van Buren was Obsidian’s canceled version of Fallout 3.
Avellone said the Baldur cancellation made Van Buren’s future unlikely. He expected executive decisions would doom the Fallout project, which later proved true.
Corrections and timeline
Filmogaz.com issued a correction on April 20. A prior report had wrongly suggested both canceled projects were at Obsidian.
The correction also noted Avellone misspoke about his departure timing. That date did not align with other established development records.
Obsidian’s related history
Obsidian previously revealed it had considered its own Baldur’s Gate project years ago. CEO Feargus Urquhart said a studio would need a large budget to meet the series’ expectations.
Obsidian later worked on other high-profile projects. Its credits include Fallout-related work, South Park games, The Outer Worlds, Pillars of Eternity, and Grounded.
Aftermath and legacy
Neither Black Isle’s Baldur effort nor Obsidian’s Van Buren was released. Black Isle ultimately folded as a studio.
Baldur’s Gate 3 did arrive years later from Larian Studios. That release became a critical and commercial success.
According to ex-dev claims, Baldur’s Gate 3 was canceled by the OG Fallout studio due to an alleged accounting error. This account adds nuance to the turbulent history of early 2000s RPG development.
