The popular mod Baldur’s Village, inspired by Baldur’s Gate 3 and designed for Stardew Valley, has triumphantly returned following a brief but alarming takedown due to copyright issues. The mod, crafted by the development team “baldursvillage,”was unfortunately removed from Nexus Mods after Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) filed an erroneous DMCA takedown request. As the owner of Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur’s Gate 3, WOTC’s actions raised concerns. Fortunately, the mod only experienced a two-day hiatus before being reinstated, much to the delight of its supporters.
In a recent interview with Nexus Mods (as reported by VG247), XunHe1145, the lead developer of Baldur’s Village, shared insights about the emotional toll the takedown took on the team. According to Xun, the team was “still recovering from the shock”and their initial reaction was one of dismay:
“We’ve worked tirelessly on updates, bug fixes, and gathering player feedback. We were eagerly looking forward to last Saturday—we just finished Astarion’s 10-heart event, the final part of his romance—and we discovered the MOD was under review. ‘They won’t get to play the latest event we worked so hard on.’ That was our first reaction. Then panic set in, and we prepared multiple help request emails for the following week. Fortunately, by Monday, we received overwhelming support from the modding community and Larian Studios, and the issue was resolved.“
Wizards of the Coast later clarified that the DMCA request was an automated mistake, although the company’s history of rigorously defending its intellectual properties remains well-documented. Notably, there was a recent incident involving WOTC hiring private investigators (as reported by Polygon) to seize inadvertently distributed, unreleased Magic: the Gathering cards from a YouTuber. Thankfully, WOTC quickly acknowledged that Baldur’s Village did not infringe upon any fan project guidelines and restored the mod’s access on Nexus.
Baldur’s Village Lives On Thanks to Fan Support
Public Outcry Encouraged WOTC to Restore the Mod
The removal of Baldur’s Village sparked immediate backlash from fans, who rallied to defend the mod on social media. While the development team strategized to revive their project, fans passionately called for WOTC to retract the copyright claim. Notably, Swen Vincke, the founder and CEO of Larian Studios, publicly advocated for the mod’s preservation, emphasizing that “free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth.”This surge of support ultimately compelled WOTC to reconsider, and they issued an apology for the takedown.
Xun and the baldursvillage team expressed their gratitude for the overwhelming community support. Xun remarked, “Seeing people notice the amount of work put into it, especially Swen Vincke, was incredible. It gave the whole team a huge boost and reminded us why we started in the first place.”
With Baldur’s Village now restored, the focus shifts to future enhancements. Baldursvillage is planning to introduce additional quests, characters, and romantic opportunities to enrich the player experience. Xun elaborated on their ambitions:
“Our next steps are clear: continue updating and creating content, focus on what we love, and give back to the players who have supported us with great projects…Baldur’s Village is just getting started. What we have published is merely a framework. We’ve got way bigger dreams for it: new stories, new gameplay, new items. There is still tons of work to do.”
Our Take: Baldur’s Gate and Stardew Valley is the Marriage We Didn’t Know We Wanted
Baldur’s Village Provides Fans with Some Much-Needed Closure
After the riveting events of Baldur’s Gate 3, fans are eager for their beloved companions to find peace. One enthusiastic player on Reddit remarked, “Well, I was just about to start my first Durge run, but I guess I’m making a new farm instead.”Another light-heartedly noted, “RIP what little free time I had left.”
Given that over 17,000 factors influence the finale of Baldur’s Gate 3, many players found themselves unsatisfied with the game’s endings. What fans craved were fulfilling conclusions for the characters they had grown to love, rather than ambiguous or “ideal”resolutions.
Bringing characters like Gale, Shadowheart, and Astarion into the fold of Stardew Valley allows players to witness their favorite companions achieving happiness, offering a sense of closure for those who wished to see their journeys culminate in peace. As baldursvillage commits to expanding their offering, it’s just a matter of time before players can dive into exciting new adventures in Baldur’s Village.
Source: Nexus Mods, VG247, Polygon, @LaratLarian/X, Ranefea/Reddit, el_sh33p/Reddit