Part 1: The Enhanced Editions

“Beamdog began as I left the BioWare building,” says Trent Oster.

One of six co-founders of the famous Edmonton game developer, Oster wore many hats at BioWare, including those of Technical Artist, Programmer, and Project Director. By 2009, as Director of Technology, he was ready to start something new. Less than a week later, he and Cameron Tofer, another BioWare veteran, considered their options. “We wanted to make games, and we wanted to remove all the layers between us and the players.”

Their first effort was a digital distribution company they dubbed Beamdog, its name conceived as a friendly companion who would deliver, or “beam,” entertainment straight to your computer. At the time, PC games distribution was fraught with difficulties. “We thought we could make a better experience and sell other games while we built our talent.”

The venture was not an immediate success. Despite a library of over 300 titles, Oster and Tofer could not compete with monolithic services like Steam. They needed a new approach.

Then Apple released the iPad.

“I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever heard of,” Oster says. "It is just a bloody big iPhone.”

While he recognized tablets would have an impact on the sale of notebook computers, since they were more affordable and made email and web-browsing easier, he didn’t immediately see an opportunity for Beamdog. But as he played with his new iPad, Oster recalls, “My second thought was that Baldur's Gate would be amazing on this large touch screen.”

After that Eureka moment, Oster realized his first impression was wrong. Tablets were a game-changer. Soon after, Beamdog secured the rights not only to Baldur’s Gate and its sequel but also to Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, and Neverwinter Nights. Their plan was to transport these games to tablets and remaster them with improvements for PC gamers.

The technical obstacles soon proved to be massive. Many of the original art assets had been lost, complicating the effort. Beamdog had to adopt new strategies, one of them being to collaborate with modders. Derek French, now Live Ops Producer at Beamdog, says, “The legacy games at Beamdog have been a long-running community effort. Everything from testing, translation, and feedback were all due to the passion and support of the fans. Without the engagement of our community, I don't think the games would have been the success that they were.”

Ultimately, Beamdog not only revised the games for use on tablets, PCs, and consoles but also added fresh content, including a new expansion, Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. Even while acting as custodians for classic titles, Beamdog leaders always had one eye on the future. Oster says, “We had always intended to do new development, but we wanted to ensure we did a great job on this beloved series, so we definitely put more effort in than we originally planned to.” That effort occupied the company until 2018, when Beamdog finished releasing enhanced editions of the classic Dungeons & Dragons video games.

The next year, the company released Axis & Allies Online, their adaptation of the WWII board game. “The goal was to allow you to fit the fun of Axis and Allies into your busy life, sneaking in a turn while waiting in a bank lineup or over a coffee break.”

With another successful adaptation of a tabletop classic, it was time for the ultimate goal: to create an original game. Before that could happen, however, Beamdog needed to level up.

Come back Friday for Part 2 of our celebration of Beamdog’s 13th Anniversary.