Wizards of the Coast DMCA Hits Fan's Baldur's Gate 3 Mod, Larian CEO Reacts

Wizards of the Coast has recently issued a DMCA takedown notice for a fan-created mod of Stardew Valley, known as "Baldur's Village," which integrates characters from Baldur's Gate 3. This move comes despite earlier public praise from Larian Studios CEO Sven Vincke, who lauded the mod's creativity and the love poured into its development.

The "Baldur's Village" mod was released earlier this month and quickly caught the attention of Vincke, who took to Twitter to express his admiration, stating, "So much love went into this - amazing work!" However, the mod's future took a turn when Wizards of the Coast, the holder of the Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur's Gate intellectual properties, decided to enforce a DMCA takedown. A spokesperson from Nexus Mods, where the mod was hosted, expressed hope that this might be an oversight by Wizards of the Coast, often known to use external agencies to identify and address IP violations. They 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."

In response to the takedown, Sven Vincke once again voiced his support for the mod on Twitter, acknowledging the complexities of IP protection while hoping for a resolution. He emphasized the value of fan mods, stating, "Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth. 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."

This incident may be part of a broader strategy by Wizards of the Coast to protect the Baldur's Gate IP, especially in light of announcements made at the recent Game Developers Conference about upcoming plans for the franchise. Whether this takedown was a deliberate move or a mistake remains to be seen. We have reached out to Wizards of the Coast for further comment on the situation.