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

The release of the much-anticipated Patch 8 for Baldur’s Gate 3 has sparked a significant surge in player numbers on Steam, setting developer Larian up for success as they transition to their next major project. Launched last week, Patch 8 introduced 12 new subclasses and a brand new photo mode, attracting fans eager to explore these additions.

Over the weekend, Baldur’s Gate 3 reached a concurrent peak of 169,267 players on Steam—a remarkable achievement for a single-player focused role-playing game in its second year. While Sony and Microsoft keep PlayStation and Xbox player counts private, the impact on Steam is clear.

Reflecting on Patch 8's success, Larian's chief Swen Vincke tweeted his optimism about the game's future, citing not only the player surge but also the thriving mod support. "I expect Baldur’s Gate 3 to continue to do well for quite some time," Vincke stated, adding that this success gives Larian the "room to focus on making our next big thing as good as we can. We’ve got big shoes to fill."

Vincke expressed satisfaction with Patch 8's reception, acknowledging the significant development effort behind it. "Feeling good today about where we are with BG3," he remarked. "Patch 8 got a lot of people playing again... 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 period of remarkable success for Larian. The game launched to critical acclaim and achieved significant commercial success in 2023, maintaining strong sales through 2024 and into 2025.

In a surprising move, Larian announced its departure from the Baldur’s Gate series and Dungeons & Dragons to focus on a new, mysterious project. Following various teasers, the developer announced a media blackout to concentrate on this upcoming endeavor.

Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has hinted at continuing the Baldur’s Gate series. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, Dan Ayoub, mentioned that with Larian moving on, "a lot of people [are] very interested in Baldur's Gate." Ayoub indicated that Hasbro is formulating plans for the series' future and teased that announcements would be forthcoming. While he did not confirm whether this would involve a new Baldur's Gate game or another type of project, Ayoub expressed his desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, acknowledging that its development would take time.

"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," Ayoub said. "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."