Baldur's Gate 3
GameBy Larian Studios · Released Aug 3, 2023
Documents about Baldur's Gate 3
Trapped in the Network: The Rise of LGBTQ+ Censorship in Games
The report, Trapped in the Network, examines the escalating global trend of censorship targeting LGBTQ+ content within the video game industry.
- LGBTQ+ content in video games is increasingly targeted by a global censorship framework involving state-level mandates, platform-imposed friction, and industry self-censorship.
- The rise of high-profile, inclusive titles like The Last of Us and Baldur’s Gate 3 has made video games a primary target for censorship as these games challenge traditional demographics and narratives.
- Censorship tactics include creating fear of retribution, introducing technical barriers to content access, and flooding public discourse to control the narrative surrounding LGBTQ+ themes.
AAA Game Makers: Navigating China's Market and Regulatory Landscape
China represents a critical growth market for AAA game developers, as the region accounts for a significant share of the player base for major global titles.
- China represents a critical growth market for Western AAA titles, with Chinese players accounting for significant portions of the player base for major 2020s releases like Palworld, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Baldur’s Gate III.
- A new three-year pilot policy implemented in Shanghai as of July 2025 allows foreign-developed games to be treated as domestic for licensing purposes, potentially accelerating ISBN approvals and reducing reliance on grey-market access.
- Localisation is the primary requirement for success in China, as most gamers will not engage with titles that lack Chinese-language support.
Elden Ring’s Player Engagement Is Through the Roof: 45% of Its Steam Players Have Played for 100+ Hours
Elden Ring has established itself as a premier engagement powerhouse within the gaming industry, demonstrating that high-quality, challenging titles can command significant long-term player investment.
- Elden Ring has reached 36 million total players across all platforms, generating nearly $2 billion in revenue.
- Steam is the game's largest platform with 15.7 million players, followed by PlayStation with 13.2 million and Xbox with 7.4 million.
- Engagement is exceptionally high, with 44.7% of Steam players and 36.7% of PlayStation players logging over 100 hours of playtime.
Hasbro FY24 Financial Results
Hasbro’s fiscal year 2024 financial results reveal a company in transition, characterized by an overall revenue decline of 17% to $4.13 billion, contrasted against a significant recovery in operating profit, which reached $690 million compared to a $1.5 billion loss in 2023.
- Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment grew 4% year-over-year to $1.52 billion in 2024, marking its 14th year of revenue growth in the last 15 years.
- Digital and licensed gaming revenue rose 22% to $417.7 million, bolstered by Monopoly Go! generating $112 million and Baldur’s Gate 3 licensed revenue doubling initial expectations.
- Hasbro reported total company revenue of $4.13 billion for 2024, a 17% decline year-over-year, while operating profit reached $690 million compared to a $1.5 billion loss in 2023.
Top-Grossing New Steam Games of 2024
The 2024 performance analysis of the Steam platform highlights the year's most commercially successful and highly engaged titles.
- Black Myth: Wukong and Palworld led 2024 Steam engagement with peak concurrent user counts of 2.4 million and 2.1 million, respectively.
- Top-grossing new releases on Steam for 2024 included S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Path of Exile 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Helldivers 2, and Palworld.
- Ten games on Steam surpassed 450,000 peak concurrent users in 2024, a list dominated by both established titles like Counter-Strike 2 and new launches.
Larian Studios Financial Results: Ireland
Larian Studios experienced a period of unprecedented financial growth in 2023, primarily driven by the global launch of its title, Baldur’s Gate 3.
- Larian Group Holdings reported a 2023 revenue of €427 million, representing a 1,781% year-over-year increase driven by the launch of Baldur’s Gate 3.
- The company achieved a pre-tax profit of €249 million in 2023, a significant turnaround from the €214,000 loss recorded in 2022.
- Larian paid out €28 million in dividends to employees and shareholders in 2023, despite being a private company with Tencent holding a 30% stake.
Connecting to Succeed
The primary objective of this analysis is to demonstrate that modern brand success in digital environments depends on fostering community engagement rather than relying on traditional, isolated marketing models.
- The audience for shared online environments now outnumbers single-player experiences four to one, with multiplayer game participation growing by 87% between 2014 and 2021 compared to just 1% for single-player titles.
- Larian Games achieved commercial success with Baldur’s Gate III—generating nearly $2 billion—by actively connecting with its user base and sharing development progress to build goodwill and de-risk the launch.
- Brands should shift from traditional one-to-many communication models toward fostering community-driven, immersive interactions to remain relevant in a saturated digital landscape.
Steam Revenue Leaders: H1 2024
The Steam platform’s revenue landscape for the first half of 2024 demonstrates a clear dominance of established live-service titles alongside a select group of high-performing new releases.
- Counter-Strike 2 was the highest-grossing game on Steam in H1 2024, generating an estimated $610 million in gross revenue.
- Twelve games surpassed $50 million in gross revenue on Steam during the first half of 2024, with new releases accounting for 33% of that group.
- Helldivers 2 and Palworld emerged as the top-performing new releases, generating $458 million and $378 million in gross revenue, respectively.
Hasbro Q2 2024 Financial Performance: Digital Gaming Segment
Hasbro’s second-quarter 2024 financial results underscore a strategic pivot toward digital gaming as a primary growth engine.
- Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment grew revenue by 20% to $452 million in Q2 2024, even as total company revenue fell 18% to $995 million.
- Digital and licensed gaming revenue within the segment surged 87% year-over-year to $144.4 million, highlighting a successful strategic shift toward digital intellectual property.
- Monopoly Go! and Baldur’s Gate 3 are projected to generate a combined $135 million in licensed revenue for Hasbro throughout 2024.
Digital Toys at Play: Top 10 Toy and Entertainment Licensors in Gaming
This analysis explores the evolving landscape of intellectual property (IP) licensing in the gaming industry, focusing on how traditional toy and entertainment companies are transitioning into digital spaces.
- The top 10 non-gaming licensors generated $9.9 billion in consumer spending for the twelve months ending in June 2024.
- Third-party developers drive the vast majority of revenue, accounting for $7.9 billion of the total spending compared to $1.8 billion from in-house efforts.
- Hasbro leads the sector, fueled by the success of Monopoly Go—projected to exceed $3 billion in lifetime revenue—and Baldur’s Gate III.
State of Free-to-Play Games on Steam
The state of free-to-play (F2P) gaming on Steam is characterized by extreme market concentration and the dominance of long-standing legacy titles.
- The F2P market on Steam is highly concentrated, with the top 10 titles capturing 88% of all engagement and Counter-Strike 2 alone accounting for 25% of total F2P concurrent users.
- New F2P titles struggle to gain traction, as the average age of top-performing games is seven years and only two new releases have entered the top 10 by average CCU since 2021.
- While F2P games accounted for 51% of total Steam playtime in 2023, their dominance is facing pressure from premium titles in early 2024.
London Games Festival: The VGIM Guide
The London Games Festival serves as a significant two-week celebration of the city’s £2 billion video games sector, acting as a central hub for industry professionals and the public.
- London's video games sector is valued at £2 billion, with the London Games Festival serving as a primary hub for industry networking and talent showcasing.
- Blizzard has successfully resolved IP disputes with NetEase, facilitating the return of World of Warcraft to the Chinese market.
- Miniclip has acquired Futurlab, the developer behind Powerwash Simulator, as industry consolidation continues.