In a move that’s bound to get RPG fans talking, Baldur’s Gate 3 publisher Larian Studios has announced the new voice of Minsc, the heroic human ranger. Their choice? It’s none other than professional voice actor and Critical Role DM Matt Mercer. Larian shared the news as part of the Panel From Hell livestream on December 15, and it posted the announcement on socials shortly after.
Minsc is a mainstay character in D&D as well as the Baldur’s Gate computer RPG series. He’s usually part of the duo Minsc and Boo, as Minsc is rarely seen without his miniature giant space hamster companion. Larian confirmed both would be returning for the third game in the series with recent Minsc and Boo trailers.
Mercer, in fact, has a history of voicing Boo. He donned the whiskers in a D&D 2019 livestream as well as in the 2022 Spelljammer actual play Legends of the Multiverse.
“I have been playing the Baldur’s Gate games since they came out almost two decades ago”, Mercer says in the livestream. “I just love Baldur’s Gate, and of all of them, Minsc has always been my favourite character.”
“I was so blown away and honoured and grateful that the folks at Larian asked me to pick up the torch and bring this character to the third instalment”, he adds. “It means so much to me.” “Know that I’m coming at this with so much respect and love – and a little bit of self-imposed pressure to bring Minsc the justice that we all know he deserves”, Mercer says.
The online response to Mercer’s casting has been largely positive, but many fans on Twitter are curious why Minsc’s original voice actor isn’t reprising the role. As well as voicing Minsc in previous Baldur’s Gate games, Jim Cummings has voiced cartoon icons like Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, and Doctor Robotnik.
In other recent BG3 news, Larian announced a rough Baldur’s Gate 3 release date at this year’s Game Awards. The finished game is expected in August 2023, and the final big patch was released on December 15 just after the Panel from Hell stream.
For more on the game ahead of its release, check out our guide to the current Baldur’s Gate 3 classes (with the newly announced Paladin class coming very soon). We’ve also compiled the best Baldur’s Gate 3 mods around right now.