Beamdog has confirmed that they are working on a new game set in the Baldur's Gate franchise that will fill the gap between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2: Shadow of Amn.

The news was announced in a post on Beamdog's Beamblog, revealing the new Baldur's Gate game is to be their previously teased 'Adventure Y' project. The team wrote the following about the new game:

This year, the eagerly anticipated Adventure Y will finally navigate the dark underground caverns of development and venture out into the Sword Coast. We’ve mentioned before that Adventure Y will be an addition to the Baldur’s Gate line using the Infinity engine, bridging the gap between Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Keep an eye on the Beamblog in late spring for announcements regarding the content and release date of Adventure Y. We have an exciting release planned for this game, something bigger than we’ve ever done before.

While it's not the full blown Baldur's Gate 3 that we've all been waiting for, I'm just happy to know that we will be receiving a new game in the series - barring the Enhanced Editions - for the first time in 14 years. However, the game is being built in the now archaic Infinity Engine, so don't expect anything more visually robust than what the Enhanced Editions of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale have previously delivered.

While Beamdog's next project will be this 'pre-sequel' of sorts, don't completely rule out the possibility of ever seeing a proper Baldur's Gate 3. Later in the post the team addressed the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons and how that could play a factor in a future title:

We got a lot of questions about Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition and a potential Baldur’s Gate III on our reddit AMA. We’d be lying if we said we never think about doing a Baldur’s Gate III game, so we won’t say that. But we will say there’s nothing in the works yet regarding BGIII or a 5th edition game. That doesn’t mean the opportunity will never arise, though, so we’re preparing by starting a tabletop 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons game here in the office. Amber, aka the BeamBard, is our first sacrificial DM in running an office campaign. Expect future Beamblog posts on how she ruthlessly murderized all our lovingly created characters.

A proper Baldur's Gate 3 built with new technology on the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons rules set is a drool inducing concept, one I'd certainly throw heaps of money at to become a reality. Even if it isn't in the works right now we can still dream, can't we?

Expect to hear more about the new Baldur's Gate game later this year when Beamdog is prepared to share more details. No platforms or release dates have been confirmed at this time. You can check out some screens of the game that were leaked on the community forums late last year below.