Recently we got our first proper look at Larian Studios latest role-player Baldur's Gate 3 - which represents the return of one of the most beloved RPGs of all time. In a new report on the impact of COVID-19 at the New York Times, studio boss Swen Vincke notes that development has slowed with the team performing at around 70-80% of its normal productivity as it moves to remote work.

Naturally, a lot of the lost time comes from keeping communication channels open and, well, general communication. "The very first week, it went really well,” Swen Vincke told reporter Jason Schreier. "Everyone had all the information they needed to just smoothly go work from home." Adding that since then, "We’d spend all of our days just communicating — trying to solve problems, organize things, give direction."

As a follow-up to the New York Times article, Swen took to twitter to confirm that the Early Access release of Baldur's Gate 3 is still on track for this year.

First New York Times interview was not exactly about what I would've imagined, but it does bring some good news: While we're slowed down, development on BG3 keeps on progressing and we still expect EA this year https://t.co/BvT7qCQD2V

— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) April 21, 2020

With digital sales at an all-time high it does look like COVID-19 is affecting the speed in which games are currently being developed. How this will affect other titles and launch releases for the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles remains to be seen.

Ubisoft head Yves Guillemot notes that if the consoles themselves were to be delayed due to manufacturing issues, then it would adjust accordingly. “We are not seeing significant impact to our own timelines, but we are in touch with all our partners and if there’s a need to adjust in order to do what’s best for them and for our players, we will do so."

It's worth noting that big publishers and studios like Ubisoft and projects like Baldur's Gate 3 feature teams spread throughout the world - with Larian Studios encompassing 300 employees across five countries. The impact seen so far seems to be minimal - as recently, CD Projekt RED announced that Cyberpunk 2077 is still on track to meet its September release.