Baldur’s Gate 3 in 2026: 20 Million Copies, No DLC, and Larian’s Next Move

Baldur’s Gate 3 came out in 2023. It’s early 2026. It’s still in Steam’s top 20 most-played games. Let that sink in for a moment.

Patch 8: The Final Major Update

On April 15, 2025, Larian Studios released Patch 8 — and confirmed it as the last major content update for Baldur’s Gate 3. It was a substantial send-off. The patch delivered 12 new subclasses, one for every class in the game:

  • Path of the Giant (Barbarian)
  • College of Glamour (Bard)
  • Death Domain (Cleric)
  • Circle of Stars (Druid)
  • Arcane Archer (Fighter)
  • Way of the Drunken Master (Monk)
  • Oath of the Crown (Paladin)
  • Swarmkeeper (Ranger)
  • Swashbuckler (Rogue)
  • Shadow Magic (Sorcerer)
  • Hexblade (Warlock)
  • Bladesinging (Wizard)

Patch 8 also added Photo Mode, full cross-play across platforms, and split-screen support on Xbox Series S. Player count spiked from around 62,000 concurrent players to over 169,000 in the days after launch. For context: that’s a two-and-a-half-year-old single-player game pulling those numbers. Extraordinary.

No DLC. Ever. Larian Said So.

There will be no expansion. No DLC. Larian has stated this definitively and the team has moved on. If you were waiting for a “Dark Urge expansion” or an Act 4, it’s not coming. What you have is the complete game, and it is still one of the best RPGs ever made.

The Modding Scene is Extraordinary

With official updates done, the modding community has fully taken the reins:

  • Over 350 million total mod downloads
  • More than 10,000 mods uploaded
  • 40% of all current players are actively using mods
  • A single community modding event produced 160+ mods from 85 authors in one month

Larian officially blessed the mod community at year-end: “Give yourselves a pat on the back, have a shot of whiskey.” When the developer tells the community to pour one out for themselves, you know the relationship is good.

BG3 also won Steam’s Labor of Love award going into 2026 — a category reserved for games still receiving exceptional community support years after launch. When Larian was nominated at the 2025 Game Awards for a game released in 2023, their public response was: “Honestly, what the f**k.” A quote for the ages.

By the Numbers

Twenty million copies sold by end of 2025. Still top 20 on Steam. Still 40% of active players using mods. For a non-live-service, non-multiplayer-first, non-sequel RPG, these are numbers that should not be possible. They are.

What Larian Does Next

At the 2025 Game Awards, Larian confirmed two new projects in development. One is a new Divinity game. The other is described as larger than Baldur’s Gate 3, which is almost difficult to process as a statement. Baldur’s Gate 4 is not on the table — Larian does not hold that license, and they’ve been clear they’re building new worlds, not returning to someone else’s.

Whatever comes next, Larian has earned the trust of an enormous audience. BG3 didn’t just succeed — it redefined what a single-player RPG could be in the live-service era. And the fact that it’s still this alive, this relevant, two-plus years later, is the best possible advertisement for whatever they build next.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *