Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion Was Once Much Different

An early version of one of Baldur's Gate 3's most well-known characters, Astarion, has been shared by Larian Studios' founder Swen Vincke at the Game Developers Conference. GDC 2024 is currently underway in San Francisco, and game developers across the industry are gathering and discussing their experiences making the games millions of gamers have enjoyed over the past year, including Baldur's Gate 3.

Winning Game of the Year at the 2023 Game Awards over several other generational games from some of the industry's best developers, it's safe to say that Baldur's Gate 3 was the biggest surprise of last year. Its CRPG nature and tactical turn-based combat didn't stop Baldur's Gate 3 from being the most talked about experience in a year filled with games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Final Fantasy 16, and many more. Arguably the face of Baldur's Gate 3, High-Elf Rogue Astarion became one of the most popular characters of any 2023 game, with the actor behind his performance, Neil Newbon, going on to win Best Performance at the Game Awards.

Larian Studios has a major presence at this year's GDC, as the studio's founder and Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke held a panel discussing the massive RPG's development. IGN pointed out that in said panel, Vincke revealed a glimpse of what Astarion looked like earlier in Baldur's Gate 3's production. Fans would be surprised to learn that their favorite pale-skinned, white-haired High-Elf in Baldur's Gate 3 used to be a Tiefling, sporting yellow eyes and dark hair.

Vincke didn't reveal when Astarion became the High-Elf everybody knows him as today, but considering how important a character's race is to their personal stories in Baldur's Gate 3, the change must have come earlier on in the game's narrative development. Baldur's Gate 3 was in production for a total of six years, with three of those years spent in early access. With this in mind, Astarion's appearance was likely changed before early access