2024 was still the year of Baldur's Gate 3: Why we're all still playing Larian's once-in-a-decade RPG 16 months later

GamesRPGBaldur’s GateBaldur’s Gate 32024 was still the year of Baldur’s Gate 3: Why we’re all still playing Larian’s once-in-a-decade RPG 16 months laterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur�s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 really is an astonishing game—and I don’t just mean in the sense that it’s quite good (it is). Rather, it’s astonishing because of its sheer longevity. Traditionally-speaking, single player RPGs have their moment in the sun, sure. But they usually only stay there for a handful of months, after which their player bases understandably finish them, then go off to do something else with their hard-earned gamer time.

This game, however, has defied most expectations. Per Larian’s own publishing head, it hadmore daily users in 2024 than 2023, its release year. Head on over to SteamDB, and you’ll notice it’s not dipped significantly below 100,000 daily concurrents in 2024—only really hitting the 80,000 mark now that we’re close to Santa doling out gifts. Those are successful numbers for your average midweight live service game, let alone in a genre that’s—y’know, designed to end. You can’t play RPGs forever, but BG3 fans have certainly tried.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

In this article, I am going to—through the lens of someone that’s been reporting on this thing for a year and a half—try to examine the chemical X that’s kept this game healthy and doing laps around its competition. Or, well, chemicals X, Y, and Z. Because it turns out that much of Larian’s success can be credited to the studio firing on all cylinders.

Pitch-perfect patches

Patch 5, which dropped November 30, truly feels like the starting gun for BG3’s success in 2024. Its two mainline features, a new epilogue and a permadeath Honour Mode difficulty, were a double whammy of incentives to get players signing up for a second go on Swen Vincke’s wild ride.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

The epilogue—which sees you having a party with Withers and all your old mates (or none, if you merked them all)—was sorely needed. While the game’s original ending was never strictlybad, it was a speedy wrap on an otherwise heartfelt and well-written journey. Throwing an epilogue in there likely got a ton of people to reinstall, boot up their old save, and then go: “Well, I’ve never tried an evil playthrough, I wonder how this’ll change things?”

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I probably wasn’t going to pick up Baldur’s Gate 3 again, but Honour Mode dragged me back in for a handful of failed attempts before I finallystuck the landing with my bard, and then an evil attempt, which made it to Act 3before I got a bit sad and stopped.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

Patch 5 set the game up for success, then, beforePatch 6andPatch 7grabbed the baton and kept running. Patch 6 added more legendary actions to Honour Mode and custom kiss animations to romances (both equally enticing reasons to have another bash). But Patch 7 was really the one to set Baldur’s Gate 3 up for long-term popularity, adding a mod browser to the game as well as a construction toolkit.Oh, and evil endings, lest we forget the horrors.

Mind, therewasa bit of controversy with that last one. Namely, the modding community, who had already been kicking about and fiddling with the game a whole ton,grew a little rowdywhen Larian’s updates kept (understandably) busting up their stuff. But the patch itself seems to, at least from my viewpoint, redirected the energy of that furor into enthusiasm.

If that wasn’t enough, Larian made a fool out of me for taking them at their word and, deciding Patch 7wasn’t their final major updateafter all, announced Patch 8. That’ll be arriving in early 2025,throwing 12 new subclasses and a photo modeat the thing, because why not.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

The sheer haul on Larian’s part has been nothing short of colossal, especially considering these are all free additions. The studio’s seen riproaring success from the game, so I don’t doubt it had the money to spend, but still. Baldur’s Gate 3, and its subsequent patches, have seen Larian at the absolute apex of its game.

Mischief and pingu posting

Baldur’s Gate 3’s enduring spot in the cultural consciousness has been partly down to Larian… well, continuing to be nominated for andwinning heaps of awards. But I think it’s also commendable how the studio handled its online presence with scarcely a controversy in sight—words I’m hoping age well in the years to come.

In a year withharrowing layoffsand studio closures, big-name acquisitions thatled to industry fallouts, and atrifecta of live service games falling short, Larian has been taking its victory lap with relative grace.Speaking out against said layoffsas they were happening, for one, but also continuing to dotalks about their successes, dancing gracefully between accolades—even if Swen Vincke feels like they’re maybesuffering under the weight of all their trophies, at this point. Please give the man a break.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

And yet, Larian’s managed to keep its public face relatively earnest and straightforward, despite being ‘one of the big boys’ in terms of mass and ambition. While, yes, the studio’ssometimes taunted us with pingu, it’s also been remarkably transparent about the development process, even when having toswat away rumours.

I’m not saying Larian’s some big, innocent, can-do-no-harm golden child of the industry—you should never make the mistake of treating a company like it’s a living, breathing person you can put trust in. Capital rules all, and it’ll probably come for Larian Studios too one day, sure as the heat death of the universe. But for the time being, the usual slings and arrows of an unkind society have clanged off with nary a scratch.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

Not to mention the fact that Larian could’ve signed on for Baldur’s Gate 4, or oodles of expansions. Yet it decided to walk away from both simply because its development teamjust wasn’t feeling it. Honestly? More power to ‘em. Especially with how weird Wizards of the Coast hasgotten about the whole franchising thing. As it stands, Larian’s a studio that does what it wants and does it well, and that’s honestly refreshing in our shareholder-saturated market of big spender flops.

Design built to last

I spaketh a bit of an untruth in my opening paragraphs: yes, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a single-player RPG. And yes, these aren’t games designed to be held onto for this long. But it’s also a special summer child in that regard, too—every iota of design, from Astarion’s silvery locks to Raphael’s tunes, is built to be experienced at least a few times.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

And there’s speedrunning, which has been shockingly wild for a CRPG. The sheer immersive-sim level nonsense Larian enables (Critical Role’s Matt Mercer wasstacking boxes to skip a sectionalmost immediately after release) has allowed for some utterly bonkers glitchy nonsense. Like throwingShadowheart’s corpse in a boxto teleport to the end of Act 2. My personal favourite trick is theOwlbear orbital strike, but I’m biased.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur’s Gate 3

One for the ages

Just having this game in its launch state would’ve been a rare enough treat, let alone the patches that followed, expanding on its ending, constantly hooking players back in for another 100-hour bash. As I said, astonishing, but not surprising. A herculean undertaking gets a herculean result.

We know that the studio’s got twosimilarly-big RPGs in the pipeline, and I can only hope we’re in for a hattrick. But for now, Baldur’s Gate 3 has enjoyed one and a half years of genre-defying success. Here’s to that last hurrah before the next Larian game saunters along and—Mystra preserve us—does it all again.

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More about baldurs gate

The voice of Shadowheart, Jennifer English, would love to return to the role after Baldur’s Gate 3—as long as Hasbro doesn’t mess it up and ‘make her into a cartoon’The new subclasses coming in Baldur’s Gate 3 are a powergamer’s paradise, and I know because I’ve seen them do terrible work in D&D

Baldur’s Gate 3 romance - Shadowheart raising a cup with the player

The voice of Shadowheart, Jennifer English, would love to return to the role after Baldur’s Gate 3—as long as Hasbro doesn’t mess it up and ‘make her into a cartoon’

A Dark Urge character with the default Dragonborn appearance posing dramatically, presumably after having done an evil deed.

The new subclasses coming in Baldur’s Gate 3 are a powergamer’s paradise, and I know because I’ve seen them do terrible work in D&D

LatestAssassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’See more latest►

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Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Image for Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

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Pitch-perfect patches#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Mischief and pingu posting#

Design built to last#

One for the ages#

Pitch-perfect patches

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Mischief and pingu posting

Design built to last

One for the ages