Baldur’s Gate 3 is on sale right now for 25 percent off over on Steam, and no, this isn’t some kind of sponsored article. This is me sussing out part of the reason why, 29 months after the epic CRPG’s bombastic release, it’s struck over 100,000 on the ever-fascinating Steam CCU tally.
As of this writing, Larian’s incredibly popular turn-based extravaganza is sitting pretty at 110,619. Earlier, it was closer to 120k. And the bear has clawed its way back to ninth place on Steam’s most-played list – notably, that counts F2P bulwarks like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
Why’s That Noteworthy?
Because Baldur’s Gate 3 is proving itself extremely resistant to the “norms” of its genre. When most RPGs hit Steam – and certainly all JRPGs, though that’s beside the point here – folks who seek to estimate their sales success will know to look at the first week, especially the first weekend. BG3 has a great co-op mode, which certainly helps its case, but it’s largely viewed as a single-player epic in line (but drastically different, obviously) with something like Persona 3 Reload.
I can’t emphasize enough just how rare it is to witness such a resurgence. And it’s not even just a resurgence. Baldur’s Gate 3 has routinely soared. Now, as we enter its third year on the market, the masses don’t seem to have noticed how relatively “old” it is. They keep playing it. We don’t know how many players are actively engaged in the brilliant script and timeless setting over on consoles right now – smart money’s on a significantly lower number – but, given its domination on Steam, there’s probably a good several thousand more out there, at least.
What’s made for all this? The volume of GOTY awards back in 2023? A little bit, maybe. But from what I’ve found, those don’t tend to have quite the magnitude of impact that some suspect they would. Astro Bot swept the big GOTY at The Game Awards 2024, but, while its sales have presumably satisfied Sony, they’re still very thin compared to Baldur’s Gate 3’s. You’ve got to have a game that appeals to a wider range of gamers right now, and Larian Studios pulled that off.
Word spread like wildfire. That’s what’s needed, especially in recent years. You’ve got to go viral, somehow. Baldur’s Gate is an interesting case study, because the original titles from BioWare were certainly acclaimed. And they did well! But this? This is positively colossal stuff. And it’s got the staying power to back up its place in gaming’s pop culture. Everywhere I go, people still talk about it. Online, at my local geek bar, the whole shebang. And, not for nothing, but when we talk about BG3 here at TheGamer? Our stuff tends to do pretty well. Even now.
If you haven’t picked up Baldur’s Gate 3 yet, don’t worry. You’re hardly alone, it seems. Folks are rushing, and they’re buying, and they’re playing. And I gave it a 10 on another website back in August 2023, so yeah, I can’t praise it enough.
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The hockey team from hell.
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