Baldur's Gate 3 Surges on Steam Post-Patch 8, Larian Eyes Next Big Project

Baldur’s Gate 3 has experienced a significant surge in player numbers on Steam following the release of the much-anticipated Patch 8. This update has positioned developer Larian Studios perfectly to shift focus towards their next major project.

Patch 8, which was released last week, introduced 12 new subclasses and a brand new photo mode to Baldur's Gate 3. The update sparked a wave of renewed interest among fans eager to explore these new features, leading to a peak concurrent player count of 169,267 on Steam over the weekend—a remarkable achievement for a single-player focused role-playing game in its second year. It's worth noting that Sony and Microsoft do not disclose player numbers for PlayStation and Xbox.

Reflecting on Patch 8's impact, Larian's chief, Swen Vincke, expressed optimism about the game's ongoing success via Twitter. He attributed the continued popularity not only to the patch but also to the thriving mod support, which he believes will keep the game engaging for a long time. This success, Vincke noted, allows Larian to concentrate on creating their next big game, acknowledging the high expectations they face.

Vincke shared his satisfaction with the reception of Patch 8, stating, "Feeling good today about where we are with BG3. Patch 8 got a lot of people playing again. It took a lot of development effort, but I'm happy we did it." He emphasized the importance of mod support and how it paves the way for Larian to focus on their next project, saying, "With mod support thriving, I think the game will now continue to do well for quite some time. It gives us room to focus on making our next big thing as good as we can and that focus is more than welcome. We've got big shoes to fill."

Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3, concluding an exceptional period for Larian. The game launched to critical acclaim and achieved tremendous commercial success in 2023, maintaining strong sales into 2024 and 2025. Larian surprised the gaming community by announcing their departure from the Baldur’s Gate series and Dungeons & Dragons to work on a new, undisclosed project, initiating a media blackout to focus on this mystery game.

Meanwhile, D&D's parent company, Hasbro, has expressed intentions to continue the Baldur’s Gate series. During the Game Developers Conference, Dan Ayoub, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, shared that with Larian moving on, "a lot of people [are] very interested in Baldur's Gate." Ayoub hinted at upcoming announcements, saying, "We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that. And actually, in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that."

While Ayoub did not specify whether these plans involve a new Baldur's Gate game or another form of content, such as a crossover similar to the previous collaboration with Magic: The Gathering, he did express a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4. He acknowledged the challenge, stating, "It's somewhat of an unenviable position... We're not in a hurry. Right? That's the thing, we're going to take a very measured approach... We've got a lot of plans, a lot of different ways to go about it. We're starting to think about, okay, yeah, we're ready to start dipping toes a little bit and talking about a few things. And I think, in really short order, like I said, again, not to over-tease that point, we're going to have some other things to talk about around that."