The release of the highly anticipated Patch 8 for Baldur’s Gate 3 has significantly boosted player numbers on Steam, setting developer Larian Studios up for success as they transition to their next major project. Patch 8, which launched last week, introduced 12 new subclasses and a brand new photo mode, sparking a surge in player engagement as fans eagerly explored these additions.
Over the weekend, Baldur’s Gate 3 reached a concurrent player peak of 169,267 on Steam—an impressive achievement for a single-player focused role-playing game in its second year. While Sony and Microsoft keep PlayStation and Xbox player numbers confidential, the surge on Steam is a clear indicator of the patch's impact.
Reflecting on the release, Larian's CEO Swen Vincke tweeted his optimism about the game's future, attributing the continued success not only to Patch 8 but also to the thriving mod support. "With mod support thriving, I think the game will now continue to do well for quite some time," Vincke stated. This sustained success allows Larian to shift their focus to developing their next major game. "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," he added.
Vincke expressed satisfaction with the development efforts behind Patch 8, noting its role in reigniting player interest. "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 said.
Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3, concluding a period of remarkable achievement for Larian. The game launched to critical acclaim and achieved substantial commercial success in 2023, maintaining strong sales through 2024 and into 2025.
Larian surprised the gaming community by announcing their departure from the Baldur’s Gate series and Dungeons & Dragons to work on a new, yet-to-be-revealed project. They've imposed a media blackout to concentrate on this mysterious endeavor.
Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has expressed interest in 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, "a lot of people [are] very interested in Baldur's Gate." Ayoub hinted at upcoming plans, stating, "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 engagement like the previous crossover with Magic: The Gathering, he expressed a long-term desire for a Baldur's Gate 4. "It's somewhat of an unenviable position," he said, emphasizing a 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."
