After the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8, Larian Studios is moving to a brand-new project. Could this be Baldur’s Gate 4?

bg4 coming? larian teases “next big thing” after patch 8 success

Baldur’s Gate 3 is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories in the gaming world. Right upon its arrival in 2023, it was praised by both fans and critics, and it managed to take home a number of awards, including Game of the Year.

Even though it’s been a while since the release of the RPG, Larian Studios hasn’t given up on it. The developer has constantly brought out new patches and updates to address issues. Now, Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 has also arrived on the scene, packing multiple new features and additions.

The RPG’s latest patch has boosted the player count, bringing thousands of new players to experience. Larian is promising to focus on its next big thing, but could it be Baldur’s Gate 4?

Is Larian finally moving to Baldur’s Gate 4?

In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3

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In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3

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In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3

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One of Baldur's Gate 3's many detailed environments.

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In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3

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In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3
In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3
In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3
One of Baldur's Gate 3's many detailed environments.
In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3

It’s been a week since the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8. Larian Studios’ CEO, Swen Vincke, has taken to Twitter/X and revealed that the RPG saw massive spikes in player counts after the release of the patch. You’ll be shocked to know that the game managed to reach over 169,000 players, and that’s quite impressive for a game that’s nearly two years old.

Vincke stated that the patch got players back into the game and believes that the game will continue to thrive for years to come, all thanks to the incredible modding community. With this, Larian is stepping back and focusing on its next “big thing,” and it can’t disappoint as it’s now carrying a lot of expectations.

One might think that Larian is obviously talking about Baldur’s Gate 4 here, but that’s not really the case. Last year, Vincke revealed that Larian would be taking a step away from the Baldur’s Gate franchise. He stated that a successor to the studio’s acclaimed RPG is possible, but Larian won’t work on it.

Why isn’t Larian making Baldur’s Gate 4? Well, in an interview with PC Gamer, Vincke stated that the development team was completely drained after the development of Baldur’s Gate 3, which made it tempting to work on a sequel.

In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3Larian won’t handle the next entry in the celebrated franchise. (Image via Larian Studios)

However, after a period of reflection, they decided to move away from the franchise to work on new, exciting projects rather than rebranding the same mechanics and challenges.

As of now, it’s still unclear what Larian’s next project will be. In 2024, it opened a brand-new studio to aid with the process of developing new RPGs. Some in the community believe that Larian will use its Baldur’s Gate 3 experience to push out Divinity: Original Sin 3. Let’s hope we get to hear more about that soon.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 still hasn’t fixed a major issue

In-game image from Baldur's Gate 3Inventory management is still an issue in Baldur’s Gate 3. (Image via Larian Studios)

There’s no denying that Patch 8 has significantly changed the Baldur’s Gate 3 experience with its various improvements and new features. However, it still hasn’t managed to fix some core issues, one of which is inventory management.

Seriously, even after eight updates, inventory management still feels like a challenge in the RPG. There are tons of items that players must collect, and sorting through all of them can prove to be a nightmare.

We’ve seen gamers often cracking jokes about spending more time sorting their inventories than fighting enemies and exploring the in-game world, which is actually the truth. The lack of a clear weight-sharing system makes this problem even worse.

Patch 8 is supposed to be Larian’s final update for Baldur’s Gate 3. So, it’s now all in the hands of the modding community to bring out solutions to fix the game’s inventory management problem.

With that said, what do you think about Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8? Let us know in the comments below.