Baldur’s Gate 3 is officially approaching its final update, but that doesn’t mean it’s near the end of its lifespan. The game enjoys a vibrant and active community, in part thanks to extensive support from its developers. Although the developers will move on to their next project, the arrival of one long-awaited feature will ensure that the Baldur’s Gate 3 community has plenty left to chew on.
Larian Studios recently announced that Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 will be the game’s final major update. Although it is unfortunate that the consistent updates will come to an end, Larian has clearly decided that it’s going out with a bang. Crossplay has long been one of the most highly-requested features since Baldur’s Gate 3 first released, and its inclusion will make Patch 8 the perfect last hurrah.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 is Checking a Huge Item Off Player’s Wish Lists in 2025
With Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 8 update now confirmed to be doing the unthinkable, one playable option that was never expected to arrive is coming.
Patch 8 Finally Brings Crossplay to Baldur’s Gate 3
The support Larian Studios has put into Baldur’s Gate 3 is far from being all talk. In fact, the developers have the awards to back it up. After Baldur’s Gate 3 was first released in 2023, it was nominated for numerous categories at The Game Awards, including Best Community Support. It won rather handily, and even went on to be nominated again at this year’s Game Awards, where it may very well have the chance to win again.
The reason for Baldur’s Gate 3‘s nomination and subsequent victory in 2023 is rather simple. The game’s community has always been vocally passionate, and Larian Studios has often responded to that passion in kind. Updates made to Baldur’s Gate 3 since its launch have been frequent and often extensive, with fan service playing no small role in many of the previous patches.
Put another way, communication between players and developers informed a great deal about the direction Baldur’s Gate 3 has taken. Some of these updates haven’t been without their controversies, such as the decision of later patches to make recruiting Minthara much easier. However, even that seems to have been driven by more fans requesting it than not. Aside from cases like these, there are other features which have received much more unanimous support among Baldur’s Gate 3 fans.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Multiplayer is a Huge Part of its Appeal
Baldur’s Gate 3‘s singleplayer campaign is plenty rich on its own, and players should more often start there before exploring anything else. However, this advice hasn’t stopped multiplayer from becoming somewhat of the main attraction for plenty of people. This makes all the sense in the world, given the game’s roots as an adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons.
Dungeons and Dragons has a very wide scope, thanks to its roots in pure imagination. This otherwise boundless premise manages to become focused, thanks simply to the tether of playing with friends. At the end of the day, playing D&D means having fun with the other people sat around the table. For the players that want Baldur’s Gate 3 to be as similar to D&D as possible, multiplayer is the most natural step to take.
Crossplay is a Long Time Coming for Baldur’s Gate 3
For most of its lifespan now, this dream was only half possible in Baldur’s Gate 3. Players could play with their friends, but only if they happened to be playing on the same console. Many fans had hoped that this would finally be resolved with the introduction of crossplay, especially given how many other issues had been addressed in prior patches. Thankfully, the final patch will finally answer these prayers, and it couldn’t be more well-timed.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has currently scheduled Patch 8 to release sometime in 2025. While there isn’t yet more known about the update’s release date, the content of the update alone is plenty of reason to feel excited. While the introduction of new subclasses to Baldur’s Gate 3 is no doubt a huge draw, Patch 8 adding crossplay to the game is a huge cause for celebration. Baldur’s Gate 3 may finally be reaching the end of its lifespan, but there’s truly no better way to send it off than with the game’s most highly requested feature.
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