Board game company WizKids has apologised for its recent line of Baldur’s Gate 3 miniatures, acknowledging the melty faced monstrosities “missed the mark” and offeringfull refunds.
WizKids announced the range – officially known as Dungeons & Dragons: Icons Of The Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 – at the end of last year, and US customers began receiving their £50/$49.99, seven-character sets earlier this month. However, rather than the crisply detailed renditions of Astarion, Karlach, Gale, Shadowheart, Wyll, Lae’zel and Withers featured in WizKids promotional material, customers instead received pre-painted miniatures that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Borja church fresco – and complaints were swift.
And now, with more and more images of the squishy faced disappointments online, WizKids has been forced to concede that, yes, their Baldur’s Gate 3 miniatures are in fact rubbish. “As a company, WizKids seeks to create products that enhance and add to the enjoyment of game play,” it wrote in a statement on its website. “We want our customers to build long-lasting, fond memories around game nights with friends and family using our products.”
“Unfortunately, we missed the mark on this goal with the D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Boxed Set,” it continued. “If you purchased this set through our online stores, we will be offering a full refund to those who are unsatisfied with their set… We’re aware of the recent reports and complaints and are taking them seriously. Our team is currently investigating these issues and taking action to make this right for those whose purchases were negatively affected and to ensure these issues do not recur in future products and reprints.”
WizKids notes anyone who purchased the box set from a third-party retailer should contact them directly for a refund, while anyone wishing for a replacement that “meets the standards expected” can do so via its website.
“Please accept our sincerest apologies for the frustration and disappointment these quality issues caused our customers,” WizKids concluded. “We, too, feel the same as the final product did not meet our expectations or that of our Wizards of the Coast partner. Our teams are working to find the best solutions to resolve this for all involved and to work with you, our customers, to fix this. We appreciate your patience as we focus on getting back to those affected and helping them with their refunds in a timely manner.”
It’s hardly a fitting celebration of developer Larian’s acclaimed 2023 RPG, but with the studio’s work on the game now largely at an end following the release of April’s massive Patch 8, Astarion, Karlach, and friends are now entirely at Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro’s mercy. And if that means licensing them out to be turned into unrcgonsisable bits of plastic, then so be. Hasbro has, of course, already confirmed it’s keen to find a studio to work on Baldur’s Gate 4, but with Larian now off working on its own mysterious projects, it’s unclear how far off that may be.