The developer of Payday 3 has announced “Project Baxter,” a new co-op multiplayer D&D live service video game coming in 2026 that sounds like it will be the opposite of Baldur’s Gate 3.
A big reason why Baldur’s Gate 3 is so successful is that it manages to capture the essence of a D&D 5E tabletop campaign. It’s an epic story that the player shapes with their own actions, no matter how unhinged their Baldur’s Gate 3 party may be.
The D&D license is huge and has a lot of scope for multimedia releases, which results in lots of video games. Unfortunately, some of these use the license in name only, which results in games of varying quality, like Dark Alliance.
A new D&D video game is on the horizon, and it’s something that fans haven’t seen before. A D&D co-op multiplayer title has been announced for 2026, and it’s being made by the developers of a popular 2023 game, who are also publishing the game.
“Project Baxter” is a new D&D game by Payday 3’s developer
Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment’s announced on its Twitter/X account that it’s making an official D&D video game called “Project Baxter,” a co-op multiplayer title coming to multiple platforms in 2026.
We are excited to unveil Dungeons & Dragons® as the IP for our next game, codename ”Project Baxter”. A co-operative multiplayer title to be released on all major platforms in 2026!Read more here: https://t.co/JROgMApCzl pic.twitter.com/2SIOUZycyV
— Starbreeze Entertainment (@StarbreezeAB) December 4, 2023
A post on the official Starbreeze Entertainment website has revealed more details. Project Baxter is a games-as-a-service title, which means it will be more similar to Payday 3 than a title like Baldur’s Gate 3, which makes sense, considering the developer involved.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Fans introduced to D&D through Baldur’s Gate 3 might not find Project Baxter as interesting, as it will be multiplayer-focused. While Baldur’s Gate 3 can be played with multiple people, it’s mostly a single-player/story-focused experience, which is usually not the case with live service titles.
It’s unclear where this new game will be set in the D&D multiverse, as the few pieces of official artwork released for Project Baxter are very generic and could be part of any fantasy franchise.
There’s a good chance the game will be set in the Forgotten Realms, the same D&D setting used by Baldur’s Gate 3. The Forgotten Realms is the most popular D&D setting and is well-suited for a video game.
Project Baxter likely won’t be the only D&D game announced over the next year, as the popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3 has invigorated the license for video games.