Baldur’s Gate III Casts Matt Mercer As Fan Favourite Barbarian Minsc

Larian Studios is making a lot of announcements in the lead-up to the final pre-release patch for Baldur’s Gate III. This morning, it announced that certified D&D royalty Matt Mercer would join the game’s cast as fan-favourite character Misnc the barbarian.

Minsc is a character that has loomed large in the D&D pantheon for many years, appearing in the original Baldur’s Gate with his companion Boo, a miniature giant space hamster. The role was originally played by legendary VO Jim Cummings, with Mercer being the second actor to assume the role in a canon video game. Cummings’ last appearance in the role was in 2015’s Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. Minsc has appeared in several live D&D games, often played by comics writer Jim Zub. Indeed, Mercer once played Boo alongside Zub’s Minsc in a live D&D game run by Wizards of the Coast.

We’ve been getting loads of questions about who we’ve cast in the critical role of Minsc…

… and we took that literally. 😏
Please welcome VO and DM extraordinaire @matthewmercer as the voice of Minsc in Baldur’s Gate 3! pic.twitter.com/nkwMfXUUCD

— Larian Studios is making sweet music (@larianstudios) December 14, 2022

The character is remembered for his Slavic accent and frequently humourous lines, many of which are commands or asides to his furry sidekick. “Go for the eyes, Boo!” remains the line most closely linked to the character.

A popular voice actor well before Critical Role‘s meteoric success made him a household name in the geek space, getting Mercer involved in your D&D RPG feels like a no-brainer.

The reveal comes as Larian dropped the release notes for Baldur’s Gate III‘s pre-release Patch 9 update. Patch 9 will be the game’s last major early access update before it officially launches next year. Patch 9 introduces a swath of new features and changes, including the new Paladin oaths, an upping of the level cap to 5, a ping system for pointing friends in the right direction during multiplayer sessions, a long list of combat rebalancing, and even longer list of new spells and conditions.

Baldur’s Gate III currently has an August 2023 release window. It’s available on early access for PC via Steam.