Baldur’s Gate 3 has experienced a remarkable resurgence in player numbers on Steam, thanks to the much-anticipated Patch 8. This update has positioned developer Larian Studios perfectly to shift their focus towards their next major project.
Patch 8, which was released last week, introduced 12 new subclasses and a brand-new photo mode, sparking a significant surge in player engagement. Over the weekend, Baldur’s Gate 3 reached a concurrent peak of 169,267 players on Steam—a remarkable achievement for a single-player focused RPG in its second year. While Sony and Microsoft keep PlayStation and Xbox player numbers under wraps, the Steam figures alone speak volumes about the game's enduring popularity.
Reflecting on Patch 8's impact, Larian's chief, Swen Vincke, took to Twitter to express his optimism about the game's future. He credits not only the player boost from Patch 8 but also the thriving mod support for ensuring Baldur’s Gate 3's continued success. "We’ve got big shoes to fill," Vincke remarked, indicating that the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 gives Larian the room to concentrate on making their next big project as exceptional as possible.
Vincke also shared his satisfaction with the development effort that went into Patch 8, noting, "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."
Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3, concluding a highly successful period for Larian. Since its launch in 2023, the game has received critical acclaim and achieved significant commercial success, continuing to sell well into 2024 and 2025.
In a surprising move, Larian announced their departure from the Baldur’s Gate and Dungeons & Dragons franchise to focus on a new, undisclosed project. This decision came after teasing the new game at various points, followed by a media blackout to concentrate on development.
Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has hinted at continuing the Baldur’s Gate series. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, Dan Ayoub, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, revealed that with Larian moving on, there is considerable interest in Baldur's Gate. "We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that," Ayoub stated, adding that they will soon have more to share. While he didn't specify whether this would involve a new Baldur's Gate game or a crossover similar to the Magic: The Gathering collaboration, Ayoub expressed his desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, acknowledging that such a project would take time.
"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," Ayoub noted, emphasizing a measured approach to future plans. "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."
