Baldur’s Gate 3 is fast approaching Hogwarts Legacy’s concurrent player record on Steam.
This development came as the fan base quickly embraced Larian Studios’ latest game following the critically acclaimed release of Baldur’s Gate 3 on August 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is growing in popularity
After Hogwarts Legacy dominated Steam sales for a long time, Avalanche Software’s Harry Potter RPG still holds the title of the biggest debut game of 2023 on Valve’s platform. Right after the release of Hogwarts Legacy, the game reached 879,000 concurrent players on Steam, also making the biggest PC release in WB Games’ history.
Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian’s newest RPG, hit an impressive record with 814,666 concurrent Steam players on its release weekend, according to public account data released by SteamDB.
While AAA games have historically reached the highest number of players shortly after their release, it is doubtful whether Baldur’s Gate 3 will be able to surpass Hogwarts Legacy in the coming days. Because even the current record holder slowed down 72 hours after his debut.
One key difference between the release of Hogwarts Legacy and the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 is that Baldur’s Gate 3 has so far been limited to Steam and GOG only. The other game featured Steam, Epic Games Store and current generation consoles.
Reaching high expectations, Baldur’s Gate 3 achieves great success
Being on par with one of the most universally acclaimed games of the year is an astonishing achievement for Baldur’s Gate 3. This is particularly notable given the fact that classic CRPGs are a much smaller niche than action-focused open-world role-playing games. The massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3 has also raised hopes that it will herald the return of high-budget CRPGs.
The current commercial momentum of the game may also lead Larian to consider DLC for his famous RPG. But of course, no such expansion has been announced yet. The head of Baldur’s Gate 3 recently revealed that the studio has yet to determine the next project.