Baldur's Gate 3 is Steam's second-biggest launch of 2023, right behind Hogwarts Legacy

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It's oh-so close to beating every Bethesda game's peak concurrent player count

Baldur's gate 3 Minthara
(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 is enjoying an immensely successful launch on Steam, with its highest concurrent player count coming extremely close to beating that of every Bethesda game. With a current peak of 472,136 players at once, Larian Studios' long-awaited sequel is Steam's second-biggest launch of the year by players, right behind Hogwarts Legacy.

Hogwarts Legacy is still far and away Steam's most successful launch by players for this year, with a peak concurrent of 879,308. Meanwhile, the now third-biggest launch of the year for Steam is Sons of the Forest at 414,257.

Baldur's Gate 3 is also the second-most played game on Steam right now behind CS:GO, but that's not as impressive since it's by far the biggest game that launched today. However, it's slowly inching up the ranks of the RPGs with the highest concurrent players on Steam. Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and New World are all sitting right around the one million park, while Hogwarts Legacy sits at a respectable 879k. Behind Hogwarts Legacy is Fallout 4, with a peak concurrent just hundreds higher than Baldur's Gate 3.

Since I made the comparison at the start, it's worth clarifying just how close Baldur's Gate 3 is to beating Fallout 4, the Bethesda game with the highest peak concurrent players on Steam. Fallout 4's record is 472,962 - just 800 players more than Baldur's Gate 3. I would not be the least bit surprised to see Baldur's Gate 3 inch past Fallout 4 sooner or later, which would be an incredible feat for the D&D RPG.

Of course, there's so much context and factors to consider when making these kinds of comparisons. For example, Baldur's Gate 3 is PC-exclusive until its PS5 launch next month, whereas most other games mentioned here were multiplatform at launch - undoubtedly dividing their player bases. I dunno, still cool though.

While we're on the topic, here's how we ranked the best RPGs ever.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.