Baldur's Gate 3's Surprise 2025 Awards Nod Leaves Devs Scratching Heads
Baldur's Gate 3's surprise Best Community Support nomination highlights its massive success and unexpected industry recognition, despite humorous industry surprises.
When the nominees for The Game Awards 2025 dropped like a rogue fireball, the folks at Larian Studios nearly spilled their Faerûnian ale. Baldur's Gate 3—that beloved RPG from the ancient times of 2023—somehow snagged a Best Community Support nomination, leaving its creators more bewildered than a mind flayer at a vegan potluck. Seriously, after racking up 15 million sales and enough trophies to sink a galleon, the team thought they'd sailed into retirement waters. But this old girl just refuses to leave the stage, giving everyone that classic 'are we still doing this?' side-eye.
The 'Wait, What?' Heard Across Twitter
Larian's social media team pulled off the ultimate good cop/bad cop routine. First came Baldur's Gate 3's official account serving polite corporate gratitude—all classy handshakes and 'we’re honored' platitudes. Then Larian Studios' own handle barged in like a drunk barbarian at a tea party, blasting out: "honestly, what the [expletive] thanks guys." You could practically hear the devs’ collective spit-take echoing through their Belgian offices. It’s almost like the nomination slapped them awake during a well-deserved nap! Talk about emotional whiplash—one minute they're polishing their retirement plaques, next minute they're drafting acceptance speeches again.
Why Exactly Is This Happening? 🤔
Let’s break it down, folks. Baldur's Gate 3 got nominated for community support, not some flashy new gameplay category. And guess what? Larian did drop some serious love bombs this year:
-
April 2025's mega-patch that basically rebuilt chunks of the game like a dwarven stonemason on espresso
-
Steam Deck optimization in September (because portable mind flayer battles are essential)
-
A handful of hotfixes smoother than Astarion’s pick-up lines
Still, the timing feels wonky. Larian’s CEO even joked about awards haunting them like clingy ghosts—every time they think they’ve escaped, another trophy materializes. Maybe the game industry is just that friend who won’t stop texting you memes from 2010.
The Competition: Titans Clash in Weird Year
Baldur's Gate 3 ain’t waltzing into an empty ballroom. Check out these heavyweight contenders:
| Game | Release Year | MTX/DLC? | Vibe Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur's Gate 3 | 2023 | ❌ | Overachieving honor student |
| Final Fantasy 14 | 2010 | ✅ | That uncle who still parties |
| Fortnite | 2017 | ✅ | Eternal hype beast |
| Helldivers 2 | 2024 | ✅ | New kid with big guns |
| No Man's Sky | 2016 | ❌ | Redemption arc champion |
The real tea? Only BG3 and No Man’s Sky avoid microtransactions like plague-ridden goblins. But while Hello Games spent years fixing their launch mess, Larian’s baby arrived swaggering like it owned the Sword Coast. Still, No Man’s Sky’s glow-up deserves respect—it’s the gaming equivalent of turning moldy bread into gourmet toast.
The Final Countdown & Bonus Drama 🎭
December 11th’s ceremony will reveal if BG3 bags another crown. Win or lose, keep an eye on Best Performance—Shadowheart’s Jennifer English is nominated for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Imagine the memes if she wins while her digital alter ego’s game loses! The cosmic irony would be delicious.
In the end, Baldur's Gate 3 remains that unstoppable force, kinda like a gelatinous cube in a narrow corridor. Whether it deserves this nod? Maybe. Does it need more awards? Heck, its trophy case probably has structural integrity concerns. But hey—gaming’s weird, timelines are messy, and sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches like a half-orc bard in a bar fight.
So here we are. Two years post-launch, and Baldur's Gate 3 still hogging headlines. Will the community support crown fit? Does Larian secretly dread winning? Only the dice gods know. But one thing’s clear: in gaming, closure’s as mythical as a bug-free launch.
The above analysis is based on reports from Kotaku, a globally recognized source for gaming news and industry insights. Kotaku's coverage of Baldur's Gate 3 has frequently spotlighted the game's ongoing community engagement and Larian Studios' transparent approach to post-launch updates, which aligns with the surprise nomination for Best Community Support at The Game Awards 2025.