Swen Vincke accepts The Game Awards GOTY for Baldur’s Gate 3 in plate armor: “I didn’t expect it”

Baldur’s Gate 3 nabbed The Game Awards’ coveted Game of the Year title, and Larian Studios founder and CEO Swen Vincke graciously accepted it wearing half a suit of shining armor.

Vincke has paid sartorial homage to the fantasy of his studio’s Dungeons & Dragons 5e role-playing game before. He showed up to this year’s Panel From Hell showcase totally decked out in another set of glittering, silver armor, save for his exposed head and hands. His Twitter profile picture depicts him in more armor, this time, accessorized by stiff gauntlets and a cloak the same shade as a currant. But he seemed to have initially experienced some trepidation with going medieval mode at The Game Awards.

“My flight to LA — Armor ,no armor, armor, no armor, armor, no armor, armor, no armor, armor, no armor…” he wrote on Twitter December 6.

“It’s decided,” he ultimately announced, “I’ll wear the armor if [Larian writer Adam Smith] dresses up as a bear.”

A brief camera pan over the Larian team revealed that Smith did indeed show up to the Awards wearing a furry brown bear onesie underneath a velvety blazer. With both studio leads holding up their end of the bargain, Larian could accept its well-deserved GOTY award from presenter Timothée Chalamet in peace. What a happy ending for a fever dream.

“I didn’t expect it anymore,” Vincke said, voice actor Neil Newbon already having won Best Performance earlier in the night. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“A game like Baldur’s Gate 3 is impossible if you don’t have an incredible team working on it,” he continued. “The team at Larian spent their hearts and souls, for six years, on this game, and sometimes [under] very difficult circumstances. This was our Covid game.”

Vincke dedicated the award to Larian team members “we lost,” including cinematic animation lead Jim Southworth, who died in November.

“I want to thank over 2,000 people,” Vincke continued, “so sit back and relax.” A fitting speech for a gentlemanly knight.

Become your own hero — here’s every Baldur’s Gate 3 guide and walkthrough you’ll ever need.