If you hadn’t already heard, there’s a weird, spiky monolith in the Mojave Desert. Adorned with a massive eye-like orb and a legion of demonic creatures, it’s a hint at something due to be revealed as part of The Game Awards 2025. And, following the registration of a few new trademarks, it seems like we already have the answer as to what it is: a brand new game from Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios called “Divinity”.
If you are one of the millions of players who first learned of Larian through the gargantuan success of Baldur’s Gate 3, then the word Divinity may not mean much to you. Fans of the studio, however, will tell you that BG3’s success is rooted in Divinity, a series of six games that Larian worked on almost exclusively between 2002 and 2017. If this monolith and trademark leak really do point towards Divinity, then the Belgian studio is returning to its original fantasy universe… and likely bringing a whole new fanbase along with it.
If such a currently-very-much-hypothetical game would mark your first foray into the Divinity universe, then you may want a quick primer on what to expect. Let us be your guide to Divinity, and be the first to (very pre-emptively) say…
Welcome to Rivellon
Much like how Baldur’s Gate takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of the Forgotten Realms, Divinity has its own rich, original setting: the world of Rivellon. There are broad similarities between the two; both are rooted in Tolkienesque fantasy tropes, with classically styled medieval landscapes and locations. There are multiple races; like in D&D, you can expect to meet humans, elves, dwarves, lizard-like beings, and the living dead. Magic is commonplace in Rivellon, although sorcery is considered more dangerous and is more heavily regulated there than it is on D&D’s Sword Coast.
Like Baldur’s Gate, Divinity also features a number of more esoteric elements, from steampunk to sci-fi and beyond, that make its world a little quirkier than the lands explored in more traditional fantasy like The Lord of the Rings. Rivellon can also often be a very silly place, and the influence of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels has frequently been felt in Divinity’s writing. In fact, Terry’s daughter, Rhianna Pratchett, even wrote a tie-in novella for the second game. But that’s not to say Rivellon is frivolous – there’s a deep vein of fascinating lore that has been mined over the series’ six installments.
In short, Rivellon is the stage for stories similar to those you enjoyed in Baldur’s Gate 3, but is beholden only to Larian’s rules, rather than those set by the owners of Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast.
What is Divinity?
Divinity is an RPG series, but its evolution has been far from usual. Take a quick look at each of the six games, and you’ll find at least four different approaches. Divine Divinity, the very first game in the series, and its sequel, Beyond Divinity, are Diablo-influenced action RPGs. Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, meanwhile, is a third-person RPG that feels a little closer to the likes of Dragon Age and The Witcher. Divinity: Dragon Commander is a slightly Total War-flavoured strategy game, and the Original Sin duology – the most recent games in the series – are classic-style RPGs that bear the most resemblance to Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian has experimented wildly over the years, and so there’s no clear indication as to what format the next game in the series will use (although considering the success of Baldur’s Gate 3, the sensible bet would be on something similar).
Another unusual element is its approach to the timeline. While Rivellon does have a coherent history and storylines that are threaded across the series, each game is set years (sometimes even centuries) apart, meaning each one is something of a standalone experience. Similar to how Baldur's Gate 3 demands no experience of the series but has plenty of nods to the two earlier games, you can play Divinity: Original Sin 2 without any experience of its predecessors. I suspect any future game in the series would continue this tradition, especially since Larian now has a legion of new fans who are unfamiliar with the studio’s previous work. If the leaked trademark is to be believed, this new project is simply called “Divinity” – a name that has likely been chosen since it comes with no suggestion that you need to have played multiple other games.
What Does “Divinity” Mean?
Divinity’s name is drawn from its foundational lore. Thousands of years before the events of Divine Divinity, the first game in the series, Rivellon’s ruling body, the Council of Seven, sacrificed themselves to defend the realm from evil wizards. The “Divine Order” was established in remembrance and assigned to pass on their knowledge to the next generations.
By the events of Divine Divinity, a prophecy tells of a messiah who will protect Rivellon from the next existential threat, a demon called Chaos. That messiah, it turns out, is you, and you ascend to become Lucian the Divine – a character that goes on to make appearances in Divinity 2: Ego Draconis and Divinity: Original Sin 2. The concept of the Divine is frequently explored in the stories, although it’s not the central focus of each and every game.
How Similar is Divinity to Baldur’s Gate 3?
Since the series has changed so much over its lifetime, most of the Divinity series is actually pretty different from what Larian created with Baldur’s Gate 3. However, the Original Sin duology is very clearly the blueprint for BG3. These are isometric RPGs set across multiple regions, with tactical turn-based combat and a similar “hands-off” approach to quest design.
While both are worth playing, Original Sin 2 is by far the most accomplished, both in terms of gameplay depth and narrative strength. It is where Larian pioneered the “origin story” characters that would later become the heroes of Baldur’s Gate 3, and Rivellon’s answer to the likes of Astarion, Gale, and Shadowheart are just as brilliantly written. It’s also the game in which the studio established “tags”, the system that provides character-specific dialogue options to help you better roleplay your specific race or class.
Perhaps the Original Sin duology’s most lauded system is its elemental effects – cast a rain spell to make something wet, and then use a lightning ability to conduct electricity through that sodden surface. Tip over an oil barrel to create a puddle, and then shoot a flaming arrow into it to create a blaze. Stab an enemy, freeze their blood, and watch them slip on their own icy innards. Much of this elemental interplay made it into Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s much more pronounced in Original Sin. Expect at least a quarter of your battles to result in arena-wide bonfires.
How to Play the Divinity Games in Order
As previously mentioned, the timeline gaps that separate the Divinity games mean there are no strictly direct sequels, and you can more or less play them in any order you choose. If you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3 and are looking to learn more about Divinity, I’d only truly recommend playing Original Sin 2, which is widely regarded as the best in the series. Initially a PC exclusive, it is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and even iPad. But if you really do want to delve into the lore and explore the entire timeline, this is how you’d need to tackle the series:
Divinity: Dragon Commander (2013)
- A grand strategy game set thousands of years prior to the events of the RPGs.
Divinity: Original Sin (2014)
- A CRPG with turn-based combat, set 1000 years before the original game, focused on a pair of “Source Hunters” tracking down dangerous magic users.
Divine Divinity (2002)
- A Diablo-like ARPG that chronicles the ascension of Lucian the Divine.
Beyond Divinity (2004)
- The ARPG sequel to Divine Divinity, set 20 years later, tells the story of one of Lucian’s servants, who has been soulbound to an evil Death Knight.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (2017)
- A CRPG that’s a sequel to Original Sin in terms of game design, but takes place after the original two games and deals with an outbreak of “Voidwoken” monsters in Rivellon.
Divinity 2: Ego Draconis (2009)
- A 3D action RPG set decades after Lucian’s ascension, during an era when the Divine’s adoptive son has become a tyrant, in which you play as a knight who can transform into a dragon.
Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.
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