Baldur's Gate 3 Soars on Steam After Patch 8

Baldur’s Gate 3 has experienced a notable spike in Steam player counts after the long-awaited Patch 8 rollout, positioning developer Larian Studios to shift focus toward their upcoming major title.

The transformative Patch 8 debuted last week, introducing 12 fresh subclasses alongside a highly requested photo mode—prompting a wave of returning players eager to explore these additions.

On Steam, Baldur’s Gate 3 achieved an impressive weekend peak of 169,267 concurrent players—a rare milestone for a narrative-driven RPG in its second year. Player metrics for PlayStation and Xbox remain undisclosed by Sony and Microsoft.

Larian’s founder Swen Vincke noted on Twitter that Patch 8’s resurgence, combined with robust modding community support, should sustain the game’s momentum. "This creates the ideal conditions for us to dedicate resources to perfecting our next project," he added, acknowledging the challenge of following their own success.

Vincke expressed satisfaction with Baldur’s Gate 3’s current state, stating: "Patch 8 reignited player engagement—it was resource-intensive but worthwhile. With mod support flourishing, we can now fully concentrate on exceeding expectations with our new title."

The studio has confirmed Patch 8 as the final major update, closing a monumental chapter that began with the game’s universally praised 2023 launch and record-breaking commercial performance, sustained through 2024 and 2025.

Larian stunned industry observers by announcing its departure from both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons to pursue an original IP, later imposing a media blackout to streamline development of this mystery project.

Hasbro, however, hints at continuing the franchise. Dan Ayoub, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, revealed during GDC that multiple parties have expressed interest in Baldur’s Gate following Larian’s exit: "We’re finalizing future plans and will share announcements shortly."

While Ayoub didn’t specify whether this entails Baldur’s Gate 4 or crossover content akin to Magic: The Gathering collaborations, he confirmed long-term ambitions for a sequel—though tempered expectations about timelines: "We’re methodically exploring all options before committing to direction." He emphasized that forthcoming reveals will provide clearer indicators of the series’ trajectory.