The release of Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3 has significantly boosted player numbers on Steam, setting developer Larian Studios up well as they shift focus to their next major project. This massive update, which introduced 12 new subclasses and a new photo mode, attracted a surge of players eager to explore these additions.
Over the weekend, Baldur's Gate 3 achieved a concurrent player peak of 169,267 on Steam—a remarkable achievement for a single-player role-playing game in its second year. While PlayStation and Xbox player numbers remain undisclosed by Sony and Microsoft, the impact of Patch 8 is clear on the PC platform.
Reflecting on the success of Patch 8, Larian's CEO Swen Vincke expressed optimism about the game's future. In a tweet, Vincke highlighted not only the player boost from Patch 8 but also the thriving mod support, which he believes will keep Baldur's Gate 3 popular for a long time. This success, Vincke noted, allows Larian to concentrate on their next ambitious project, stating, "We've got big shoes to fill."
Vincke shared his satisfaction with the reception of Patch 8, emphasizing the extensive development effort behind it. He stated, "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 what has been a highly successful period for Larian. Launched in 2023, the game received critical acclaim and achieved substantial 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. They enforced a media blackout to dedicate their efforts to this mystery game, which they teased prior to the announcement.
Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of Dungeons & Dragons, has plans to continue 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 significant interest in the Baldur's Gate franchise. Ayoub mentioned, "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 this "stuff" refers to a new Baldur's Gate game or another form of media crossover, he expressed a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4. However, 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."
