Baldur's Gate 3 Steam Surge Post-Patch 8: Larian Eyes Next Big Project

Baldur’s Gate 3 has experienced a significant resurgence in player numbers on Steam following the release of the much-anticipated Patch 8. This patch has positioned developer Larian Studios perfectly to shift their focus to their next major project.

Patch 8, a monumental update, was released last week and introduced 12 new subclasses to the game. Alongside the new subclasses, the update also included a brand new photo mode, sparking a surge in player interest as fans rushed to explore these new features.

Over the weekend, Baldur’s Gate 3 achieved a peak concurrent player count of 169,267 on Steam—an impressive milestone for a single-player focused RPG in its second year. While Sony and Microsoft do not disclose player numbers for PlayStation and Xbox, the Steam figures alone highlight the game's enduring popularity.

Reflecting on Patch 8's impact, Larian's CEO, Swen Vincke, took to Twitter to express his optimism about the game's future. Vincke noted that the player boost from Patch 8, coupled with thriving mod support, suggests that Baldur’s Gate 3 will continue to perform well for the foreseeable future. This success, he added, allows Larian to dedicate their efforts to developing their next ambitious project. "We've got big shoes to fill," Vincke remarked, underscoring the high expectations for their future endeavors.

Vincke further shared his satisfaction with the reception of Patch 8, acknowledging the significant development effort involved. "Feeling good today about where we are with BG3," he said. "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, signaling the end of a remarkable chapter for Larian. The game, which launched to critical acclaim and achieved massive commercial success in 2023, has maintained strong sales into 2024 and 2025.

In a surprising move, Larian announced their intention to move away from Baldur’s Gate 3 and the Dungeons & Dragons universe to focus on a new, undisclosed project. They teased this new venture before imposing a media blackout to concentrate on development.

Meanwhile, D&D owner Hasbro has hinted at plans to continue the Baldur’s Gate series. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, Hasbro's SVP of digital games, Dan Ayoub, revealed that with Larian moving on, there is significant interest in the Baldur’s Gate franchise. "We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that," Ayoub stated. "And actually, in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that."

Ayoub did not specify whether this "stuff" would be a new full-fledged Baldur’s Gate game or another form of content, such as a crossover with other IPs like Magic: The Gathering. However, he expressed a long-term goal of eventually seeing a Baldur’s Gate 4, acknowledging that such a project would take considerable time to develop.

"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," Ayoub commented. "I mean, 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."