Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor thinks putting "the player first over profit" is why the RPG is so successful, urges other devs to do the same: "You're probably gonna sell a s***-ton of copies"

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Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor thinks putting "the player first over profit" is why the RPG is so successful, urges other devs to do the same: "You're probably gonna sell a s***-ton of copies" News By George Young published 5 December 2025

"If we needed to redo something, they spent the money, and we did it"

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(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Astarion's actor from Baldur's Gate 3, Neil Newborn, believes the key to the RPGs omega success, including tens of millions of copies sold and numerous accolades, is developer Larian's insistence on putting "the player first over profit."

Speaking at a panel on Baldur's Gate 3 at Rhode Island Comic Con featuring five of the game's actors, the fan-favorite character's actor gives his opinion on why the tabletop-style RPG was so successful, giving the example of Larian's late addition of more player pronouns.

"If we needed to redo something, they spent the money, and we did it," Newborn says. "They added in they/them [pronouns] at a huge staggering cost of money. Because I tried to kind of do a mind palace [and] work out how much it was. It's insane, and mine is probably an underestimate of how much it cost. But they did it anyway because they wanted players to feel representation."

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The cost Newborn is likely talking about is in hours spent in the booth. Actors need to record several versions of each line, not only to offer different versions to the director, but so there are versions for differences like pronouns. With how much dialogue there is, it's very likely the addition of just one extra set of pronouns added up to dozens of extra voice acting hours for the cast.

"I think the point is that," Newborn adds. "As we've known before, and as we've seen Larian and other games coming up afterwards as well of different genres within the gaming space, if you put the player first over profit, you're gonna make a better game, it's going to be well received, and you're probably gonna sell a shit-ton of copies of it." And we didn't think we could stan our problematic fave vampire any harder.

Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach actor begs people to "please play the indies" as they gear up to star in 7 games coming at the start of 2026 thanks to GTA 6: "You're going to be sick of me."

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PC Gaming Xbox Series X PS5 Platforms Xbox PlayStation George YoungSocial Links NavigationFreelance News Writer

Freelance writer, full-time PlayStation Vita enthusiast, and speaker of some languages. I break up my days by watching people I don't know play Pokemon pretty fast.

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Logout Read more "It saved my life": Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor says performance capture acting in games pulled him out of "£34,000 worth of debt" and "years of not doing very well"    Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says the RPG's beloved vampire has "meant more than I ever realized he would," and "I'm not ready to let go of him"    Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach actor says cast members are still underrated by video game developers, who see them "as outsources for a lot of the time": "There's a weird disconnect"    Baldur's Gate 3 Shadowheart actor says she would have "absolutely f***ing floundered" if she were cast in Larian's RPG at the start of her career: "It's so overwhelming"    Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach actor begs people to "please play the indies" as they gear up to star in 7 games coming at the start of 2026 thanks to GTA 6: "You're going to be sick of me"    Former Skyrim dev praises Baldur's Gate 3 for the RPG's faithfulness to Dungeons & Dragons: "That's as close as we've gotten to tabletop role-playing on a computer"    Latest in Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 Shadowheart actor says she would have "absolutely f***ing floundered" if she were cast in Larian's RPG at the start of her career: "It's so overwhelming"    Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach actor begs people to "please play the indies" as they gear up to star in 7 games coming at the start of 2026 thanks to GTA 6: "You're going to be sick of me"    Baldur's Gate 3 actor reveals Shadowheart's pal Nocturne was more of a "sexy demon" until she "found Nocturne on the spot" in a "girl next door" vibe    Baldur's Gate 3 performance director doubles down on the need for award shows to implement a motion capture category, because "mocap performers just disappear" and "nobody knows about them"    Baldur's Gate 3 players are breaking the RPG's D&D-fueled initiative order thanks to a German law that makes orphaned children "the strongest summons in the game"    As Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 star Charlie Cox insists "any nomination" should go to Gustave's mocap actor, Baldur's Gate 3 performance director says awards should include motion capture category    Latest in News Jon Bernthal promises a seamless switch between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Punisher Special Presentation    Resident Evil Requiem's GameStop listing seemingly leaks a second playable character and, no, it sadly isn't Leon Kennedy    Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it"    Halo's Cortana actor says the direction Bungie gave her for the FPS was to sound like "the girl next door" that you "wanted to hang out with, but you're not in love with"    Assassin's Creed Shadows lead teases "things that are set up" in the open-world RPG "should keep happening in other projects and evolve" thanks to the Animus Hub    Alien star Sigourney Weaver gives another intriguing update on potential return as Ellen Ripley    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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