GamesRPGBaldur’s GateOG Baldur’s Gate developer outlines the changing face of IP deals: “You have to sell 10 million units just to break even"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGBaldur’s GateOG Baldur’s Gate developer outlines the changing face of IP deals: “You have to sell 10 million units just to break even"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: BioWare)
Feargus Urquhart, the head ofObsidian Entertainmentand developer behind beloved RPGs like the originalBaldur’s GateandFallout, reveals how IP deals have evolved.
Urquhart explains how these numbers meant that the team could “give Wizards of the Coast a licensing fee from unit one - and the money all works.” The same wouldn’t always apply on larger scales more typical of today’s deals, according to the dev. “Now, if you go spend $300 million on a game and you advertise it and all this other kind of stuff, and it’s $400 million, and so you’ve got to sell 10 million units just to break even.”
âWe were a crappy developerâ: Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart on state of gaming industry - YouTubeWatch On
âWe were a crappy developerâ: Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart on state of gaming industry - YouTube
âWe were a crappy developerâ: Obsidian studio head Feargus Urquhart on state of gaming industry - YouTube
The troubles don’t end there in Urquhart’s example - “Your licensor wants to make 10 percent on that $400 million before you make any money - yeah, it starts to get into this thing of like, uh yeah, that’s kind of scary.” As the dev says, when it comes to an IP, “either you believe you’re going to sell more units using the IP or you don’t.” That’s not to say that the math can’t still work, though, which Urquhart states.
“Let’s say it’s not Spider-Man. It’s just some dude who doesn’t have a web, he just shoots other stuff. Does that game sell the same number of units as Spider-Man? Insomniac’s awesome, right? But probably not.” Urquhart makes a good point here - and I know that I’ll certainly be looking at large-scale IP deals and the stress that goes into maintaining numbers behind the scenes differently myself from here on out.
Baldur’s Gate 3 dev nearly lost its chance at the D&D license because its previous RPG meant its pitch to Wizards of the Coast was “really s***”
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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