Baldur’s Gate 3 devs secretly backed one of the best indie games of the decade

Larian Studios quietly supported the creators behind Blasphemous, one of the standout indie game releases of 2019, with massive donations, according to one dev.

Blasphemous was one of the big success stories of the indie dev scene in 2019, being met with great reviews and higher attention than many other titles. In particular, its blend of traditional Metroidvania gameplay with an innovative 2D interpretation of souls-like combat and storytelling received a lot of praise, enabling developers The Game Kitchen to release a sequel.

Like many aspiring indie titles, Blasphemous launched with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign. Initially looking to raise $50,000, the team raised north of $300,000, allowing them to deliver on a compelling premise.

Not many people knows this, but @larianstudios was one of the biggest contributors during the @BlasphemousGame Kickstarter campaign.

They dropped a 4 figures sum, never asked for their rewards and just kept making one of the best games ever done in recent years.

Legends! 🥲 pic.twitter.com/uQ6kfWbFsT

— Enrique Colinet (@Baxayaun) April 12, 2024

Now, a dev who worked on Blasphemous has highlighted the role of Larian Studios, the team behind 2023’s Baldur’s Gate 3, in supporting the project from the start.

“Not many people know this, but Larian Studios was one of the biggest contributors during the Kickstarter campaign,” Enrique Colinet wrote on Twitter.

“They dropped a 4-figure sum, never asked for their rewards and just kept making one of the best games ever done in recent years.”

Depending on your definition of an indie game, you could read this as one indie dev team supporting another. However, Larian Studios has access to more manpower and resources than most other developers in the scene.