Baldur’s Gate 3 is gunning for the top of the Steam charts with jaw-dropping stats

By Tomas Franzese Published August 4, 2023

Baldur’s Gate 3 left early access and officially launched on August 3, and it’s seeing an unprecedented level of success. At the time of writing, the peak player count for the game is hovering around 537, 000, according to data from SteamDB.

Baldur’s Gate 3 saw steady growth in player count ahead of its early access launch in recent weeks, and that player count number has only continued to skyrocket. Right now, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the third most concurrently played game on Steam. The only games Baldur’s Gate 3 is lagging behind are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and DOTA 2, two popular multiplayer games with massive communities. PUBG: Battlegrounds, the game in fourth place, is around 200,000 players behind Larian Studios’ latest.

Steam charts show Baldur's Gate 3 at #3. — SteamDB

For a game that is from the fairly niche CRPG genre, has been gestating in early access for years, and hasn’t been as zeitgeisty as other 2023 RPGs like Starfield, these numbers are ridiculously impressive. For reference, SteamDB lists the all-time peak for Larian Studios’ previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2, at 93,701. Then, if you want to look at older games in the Baldur’s Gate series, the all-time peak player count for Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition on Steam was 3,756 players, while the all-time peak for Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition was only 2,644.

This is a massive win for single-player games and RPGs, showing that there are plenty of people who still care for and want to play great games in that style. It’ll be exciting to see how far up this concurrent player count could go. Will it reach the heights of games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now for PC. It will also launch for PS5 on September 6.

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Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

Will there be DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3?

A group of four adventures stands on the ends of a cliff in Baldur's Gate 3.

Having come out on both PC and PlayStation, with Xbox said to arrive in the near future, adventurers have already dumped hundreds of hours in Baldur’s Gate 3. This unexpected hit for the CRPG genre is as deep as it is long, and yet some have already managed to plow through all three of the game's acts. Despite there being tons of ways to experiment and replay using all the different Races and Classes, people are already getting hungry for more. In the modern age, DLC for massive hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost a sure thing, and yet this game is by no means normal. From its long early access period to the sheer amount of dynamic and reactive ways to interact with the world, this is a very unique product. That has left many to question whether or not there will ever be any DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3.
Is Baldur's Gate 3 getting DLC?

At the time of writing, there are no concrete plans for DLC for Baldur’s Gate 3, but that doesn't mean it isn't in the cards. The latest update Larian has given on any potential future expansions came from an IGN interview with Product Manager Tom Butler during Gamescom 2023. He stated "We'll carry on patching for a while and then we're all going to take a holiday and then we'll figure out what we do next. But at the moment, we genuinely have discussions. We want to do more. We don't know what yet." No doubt the team deserves a break after the years of work put into Baldur’s Gate 3, and while fans will be somewhat disappointed to know nothing beyond fixes and updates are in the works as of now, you can at least know that it is being talked about.

Gaming

How to change your appearance in Baldur’s Gate 3

A party of four adventures walking through a mushroom forest in the Underdark

Making your character can take a long time if you really want to get all the details right. From your race, class, hairstyle, and more, you have a lot of options to tweak before ever starting your adventure. If you're a little too excited, you might end up slacking off on making your character and assuming you can update it later just so you can get right into the action. If so, or you simply want to change up your look after a couple of hours into this massive game, you'll be at a loss as to how, if you even can, change your appearance in Baldur's Gate 3. You may not fully like the answer, but here's the best you can do in terms of altering your appearance after you've exited the character creator.
Can you change your appearance in Baldur's Gate 3?

The answer to this is technically yes, but not in the way you would hope. To get it out of the way, no, there's no way to return to the character creation screen after you've finalized your character. Unlike respeccing your character, there's no NPC, item, or magic mirror anywhere in The Forgotten Realms that will let you change your appearance.

Gaming

Is Baldur’s Gate 3 cross-platform?

A Baldur's Gate 3 character lights the way.

The biggest CRPG of the year, if not ever, promises a huge adventure that you are encouraged to play cooperatively with up to four friends. While online play is expected in the modern era, Baldur's Gate 3 surprisingly also supports split-screen co-op on every PC and PS5 as well, meaning you can run an entire campaign with a friend side-by-side. As great as all that is, the vast majority of people will likely want to play with a friend in the comfort of their own homes, which might mean a PC player and a PS5 player will want to team up. Is that possible in Baldur's Gate 3? Here's a quick rundown of this game's cross-platform support.
Is Baldur's Gate 3 cross-platform?

In short, no, Baldur's Gate 3 will not allow for cross-platform play. If you are playing on PC, then anyone you want to play online with will also need to be on PC, and the same is true for PS5. While this is true for now, it is possible that Larian Studios may add cross-platform play in a future update, but for now, it is safer to assume it won't come and make your purchasing decision accordingly.