Stardew Valley Baldur’s Gate 3 mod praised by Larian boss has been yanked by Dungeons & Dragons lawyers
Just weeks after an “amazing” Baldur’s Gate 3-themed Stardew Valley mod drew praise from Larian Studios co-founder Swen Vincke, it’s been targeted by lawyers representing Dungeons & Dragons company Wizards of the Coast, and hit with a DMCA takedown.
The Baldur’s Village mod released earlier this month after more than a year in development, giving players the chance to explore a new village north of Stardew Valley’s Pelican Town that’s populated by some “rather unusual” residents. Its Baldur’s Gate 3-inspired additions included a romanceable Astarion, alongside a new tavern and more.
At the time, its creator, Xun, said the release was just the start, with a storyline for Halsin also planned in addition to more “world-building, background stories, and gameplay”. But even this initial version was enough to catch Larian boss Swen Vincke’s eye, and he shared its release on social media, writing, “So much love went into this – amazing work!”
Unfortunately, it seems Dungeons & Dragons’ license holder Wizards of the Coast was less impressed by the whole thing, and Baldur’s Village has now vanished from modding website NexusMods after the company’s laweyers hit it with a DMCA takedown over the weekend.
In a statement provided to PC Gamer, Nexus Mods described Baldur’s Village – which remains “under moderation review” on the site at the time of writing – as an “an incredibly creative cross-over to Stardew Valley that the community loves|. It optimistically added, “Hopefully, this is an oversight from WotC, who often use external agencies to hunt down violating content, and they will revert their decision. Fingers crossed for Baldur’s Village.”
Larian’s Swen Vincke also shared his thoughts on social media. “Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth,” he wrote. “IMHO they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property. Protecting your IP can be tricky but I do hope this gets settled. There are good ways of dealing with this.”
Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro have, of course, expressed considerable interest in continuing the Baldur’s Gate franchise following the mega-success of Baldur’s Gate 3 – despite the fact Larian won’t be attached after it instead opted to focus on its own IP.
Earlier this month, Hasbro insisted there are plenty of other developers “very interested” in continuing the series. “We’re kind of working out our plans for the future and what we’re going to be doing with that,” it added. “And actually, in pretty short order, we’re going to have some stuff to talk about around that.”
