Baldur’s Gate 3 has experienced a notable surge in player numbers on Steam after the release of the much-anticipated Patch 8, positioning developer Larian Studios perfectly to shift focus to their next major project.
Patch 8, which rolled out last week, introduced 12 new subclasses to Baldur's Gate 3, alongside a brand new photo mode. This update triggered a significant influx of players eager to explore these additions. Over the weekend, the game achieved a concurrent peak of 169,267 players on Steam—an impressive milestone for a single-player role-playing game in its second year. While Sony and Microsoft keep PlayStation and Xbox player counts under wraps, the impact on Steam is undeniable.
Reflecting on the release of Patch 8, Larian's CEO, Swen Vincke, expressed optimism on Twitter, stating that he expects Baldur’s Gate 3 to "continue to do well for quite some time." Vincke credits this sustained success not only to the player boost from Patch 8 but also to the thriving modding community. This success allows Larian to concentrate on crafting their next big project, which Vincke acknowledges will need to live up to high expectations: "We've got big shoes to fill."
Vincke further shared his satisfaction with the current state of Baldur's Gate 3, noting, "Patch 8 got a lot of people playing again. It took a lot of development effort but I'm happy we did it." He highlighted the importance of the mod support in ensuring the game's ongoing popularity and allowing the team to shift their focus to new ventures.
Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3, signaling the end of a remarkable chapter for Larian. The game, which launched to critical acclaim and achieved significant commercial success in 2023, has continued to perform strongly into 2025.
In a surprising move, Larian announced their departure from the Baldur’s Gate series and Dungeons & Dragons to develop a new, undisclosed game. This decision was followed by a media blackout to concentrate on the mysterious project. Meanwhile, D&D owner Hasbro has hinted at continuing the Baldur's Gate series. During 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 mentioned that Hasbro is formulating future plans for the series, teasing that "in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that." While he did not specify whether this would entail a full sequel like Baldur's Gate 4 or something akin to previous crossovers with games like Magic: The Gathering, Ayoub expressed a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, albeit acknowledging that such a project would take time.
"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," Ayoub noted, emphasizing a measured approach to future developments. "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."
