Dungeons & Dragons IP holder Wizards of the Coast recently issued a DMCA takedown against a fan-made Baldur’s Gate 3–themed Stardew Valley mod. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 director Swen Vincke – who earlier this month described the lovingly crafted mod as “amazing” – does not share the same harsh stance.
In a series of Twitter posts, Vincke responded to the takedown by stating:
“Free quality fan mods that showcase your characters in diverse game genres are a testament to how your work resonates as a unique form of word of mouth. In my opinion, they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property.”
— Swen Vincke
Earlier today, a representative from Nexus Mods, the former host of the “Baldur’s Village” mod, reached out to share their viewpoint on the mod’s removal—a decision initiated last week at the request of a Wizards of the Coast lawyer.
“We’ve been actively contacting Wizards, Larian, and others in the hope of having it reinstated because it’s such a well-made mod,” explained a Nexus content manager referring to Baldur’s Village, which introduced an impressive new map and charming Baldur’s Gate 3–styled sprites into Stardew Valley. Updates to this article will follow if additional details from Nexus emerge.
For now, it seems that Larian – or at least Swen Vincke – is fully behind the creators of Baldur’s Village, though his support is limited to offering encouragement. Vincke added in his Twitter posts, “Protecting your IP can be tricky, but I do hope this gets settled. There are good ways of dealing with this.”
Meanwhile, mod creator XunHe1145 has not commented publicly on the current status of Baldur’s Village, although their Patreon, which funds ongoing updates to the mod, remains active.
The Baldur’s Gate 3-themed Stardew Valley mod that Larian boss Swen Vincke called “amazing” gets DMCA’d by D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast.