A new Planescape game might be in development at Beamdog
A recent documentary about the studio may have spoiled a surprise.
Beamdog has been all-in on the great Infinity Engine RPGs for quite awhile now, enhancing them and even releasing a new episode for the one that started it all, Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. Now, as picked out by the ever-vigilant RPG Codex, it appears that it might be working on something even more ambitious: .
The "evidence" comes out of this Storyhive documentary video about Beamdog that was released at the end of October. At the 2:37 mark is a clip of someone examining what is presumably character concept art, collected under the header faction_Fated-thumbs, which is located in a folder called Planescape: Unraveled.
The Planescape title is the obvious giveaway, but so is the reference to the Fated: It's a faction in the Planescape setting that believes, basically, that might makes right—which is why its members are colloquially known amongst bloods and bashers as the Takers. (The post originally indicated that the characters in question were Golden Lords, wealthy and powerful nobles of Sigil, but those were actually separate images discovered in the portfolio of Beamdog concept artist Amy Cornelson in September.)
Setting aside the possibility that it's a Valve-style fake-out, Unraveled could be a new game or an expansion to the Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition that Beamdog released in April. Whatever it turns out to be (assuming it turns out to be anything at all), it will be a monumental and, for Beamdog, a very risky undertaking. InXile's Torment: Tides of Numenera did an excellent job as a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment, while the original's legendary status means that anything short of damn near perfection will be derided as a letdown.
(Amusing bit of trivia: Chris Avellone, the lead designer on Planescape: Torment, was involved with both Torment: Tides of Numenera and the Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition. Because of course he was.)
Even without the element of a possibly-new Planescape reveal, the documentary is a fun watch—I got a particular kick out of Trent Oster's story about its first Baldur's Gate countdown unexpectedly crushing the site seconds before hitting zero. (Coincidence or not, there's also a large Planescape: Torment poster parked behind Oster as he speaks.) I've emailed Beamdog for more information and will update if I receive a reply.
Update: A Beamdog rep said the studio has "no comment" on the rumor.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.