The release of the much-anticipated Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3 has triggered a significant surge in player numbers on Steam, setting developer Larian Studios on a solid path to focus on their next major project. Launched last week, Patch 8 introduced 12 new subclasses and a new photo mode, sparking renewed interest and boosting player engagement. Over the weekend, Baldur's Gate 3 reached a concurrent player peak of 169,267 on Steam—a remarkable achievement for a single-player focused RPG now in its second year. Note that player numbers for PlayStation and Xbox are not publicly disclosed by Sony and Microsoft.
Reflecting on Patch 8's impact, Larian's chief, Swen Vincke, expressed optimism about the game's future, tweeting that he expects Baldur's Gate 3 to continue thriving, thanks not only to the patch but also to robust mod support. This success provides Larian the breathing room to concentrate on crafting their next big game, with Vincke acknowledging the high expectations they need to meet. "Feeling good today about where we are with BG3," Vincke stated. "Patch 8 got a lot of people playing again. It took a lot of development effort but I'm happy we did it. With mod support thriving, I think the game will now continue to do well for quite some time. 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."
Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur's Gate 3, concluding a stellar run for Larian. The game, which launched to widespread critical acclaim and achieved tremendous commercial success in 2023, has maintained strong sales into 2024 and 2025. Larian has announced its departure from the Baldur's Gate and Dungeons & Dragons franchises to work on a new, undisclosed project, initiating a media blackout to concentrate on development.
Meanwhile, D&D's parent company, Hasbro, has hinted at 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, there is significant interest in Baldur's Gate. "We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that," Ayoub mentioned. "And actually, in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that." While Ayoub didn't specify whether this would entail a full sequel or another form of content, he expressed a long-term desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, acknowledging that such a project would require time and a careful approach. "It's somewhat of an unenviable position," he added. "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."
