Larian has put out Baldur’s Gate 3‘s last big community update of 2024, and it brings some nice news. Registration’s now open for the stress test of Patch 8 that’s set to take place early next year, so you you can throw your username in the hat if you wish.
As the studio revealed late last month, Patch 8 is the final major update for BG3, it swears. What’ll be in it? Well, a heap of things, such as crossplay, a photo mode, and 12 new subclasses – with the latter including the likes of a College of Glamour bard, bladesinging wizards, and drunken master monks.
In that announcement, Larain made mention of stress testing for the update happening in January 2025, and it’s now opened up registration for that test, so you can apply to be a part of it by going to this link. You’ll just be reigering your interest, so you might not get picked, but it’s worth a shot if you fancy it.
As for why the test – which is available to folks on PC via Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation, but not Mac or GOG – is taking place, Larian explained: “A stress test aims to do exactly what it sounds like; rigorously test the latest game version to detect any instability or gameplay issues before Patch 8 releases. With your help, we’ll be able to keep an eye on any funny business.
“Bringing cross-play to a game the size of Baldur’s Gate 3 has been no easy task, and we want your help to test-drive this new functionality. Share the stress test registration link to summon your friends and settle in for a cross-play campaign, or head to the Larian Studios Discord Server to look for a group to play with.”
While mods should be ok, Larian also says this test’ll be a chance for it to see how they mesh with Patch 8’s new fgeatures, hopefully meaning that by release, load orders won’t be giant barrel explosions waiting to happen. The studio’s also winding down console mod curation for the holidays from today, but it’ll be back on that grind in the new year.
While you wait, Larian’s also done its own advent calendar thingy that you can use to help celebrate whichever holidays you celebrate this time of year. There’s even a video that sees Swen Vincke cheekily shoulderbarge somone who used to work for Eurogamer.
