Baldur's Gate 3 is already one of Steam's biggest games ever

Baldur's Gate 3
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 may have only released on August 3, but it's already one of Steam's biggest games, clocking up a concurrent user record so high, it's already cemented itself in Steam's top ten most played games ever.

The hugely-anticipated sequel – which has been decades in the making – has been breaking its own concurrent record over and over again all weekend (and – this is not an exaggeration – at least six times since I started writing this article). 

At the time of writing, Baldur Gate's 3's concurrent Steam peak sits at 809,012, putting it ninth on SteamDB's charts of the games with the highest ever concurrent user records and pushing Apex Legends out of the top ten and into eleventh place.

That means that in just three days, Baldur's Gate 3 has had more concurrent players – that is, simultaneous players all logged on and actively in-game at the time the record was set – than games like Valheim, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Destiny 2.

More amazingly still, Baldur's Gate 3 is currently the second-most played game on Steam of the last 24 hours, boasting more concurrent players this weekend than even Dota 2 and PUBG: Battlegrounds. Of all the games on Steam, only CS:GO has had more concurrent players in the last 24 hours.

"I played one character for 50 hours on PC. This wasn’t enough to get through the game, and I'm still in the early to mid stages of Act 2, but it’s more than enough to get a sense of the sprawling scale and depth of the game here," our editor-in-chief, Jake, said of the highly-anticipated RPG, for which he awarded it a lofty five out of five stars.

We'd say that Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the best RPGs ever, but if you're on the hunt for the next adventure with some companions, we've got a list of the best MMOs too. However, if you prefer to explore huge worlds on your own, make sure you check out our list of the best single-player games

Read more
Malenia in Elden Ring
The best Steam games 2025 - download these top picks for PC
Baldur's Gate 3 official artwork showing Astarion, Showdowheart, Gale, and Tieflings
Best PC games 2025: the must-play titles you don’t want to miss
A FF14 character stands looking out over a lush vista. Flying creatures can be seen in the distance
The best MMORPGs for 2025 - online worlds to get lost in
Baldur's Gate 3
Don't panic! Baldur's Gate 3 players on PS5 who were affected by the accidental release of Patch 8 can fix their game using this easy solution
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With discounts of up to 95%, these are the biggest deals I've managed to find in the Steam Spring Sale
Death Stranding's protagonist Sam Porter Bridges gazing forward
Best Mac games 2025 - the best Apple-friendly gaming experiences you can get
Latest in Gaming
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With discounts of up to 95%, these are the biggest deals I've managed to find in the Steam Spring Sale
WWE 2K25
I've spent days in the ring with WWE 2K25, and it's like a five-star match ruined by the Million Dollar Man
Asus ROG Ally using Steam
I think Asus could be the perfect partner for an Xbox handheld – but I have questions
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #643)
Rainbow Six Siege X promotional art.
The Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X 6v6 mode might finally pull me away from Black Ops 6
Latest in News
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #1147)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #378)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough