The two major releases in 2024 on Steam were probably the role-playing games Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield. Good half a year after the release, we take a look at the player numbers on Steam. Who is in a better position now?
That was the situation in 2023: Back then, it was actually a fight – David against Goliath:
- The new role-playing game from Bethesda, from the creators of Fallout and Skyrim, was highly anticipated and was supposed to define 2023. There was even a special showcase in June that was widely viewed.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 was already old news in 2023. Chapter 1 of the role-playing game had been playable in Early Access on Steam since 2020 and at that time, it interested only a few. Larian moved the release from August 31 to August 3, probably to avoid a direct duel with Starfield.
The winner of the unequal battle was actually already determined, but a bear sex scene later everything was different.
Baldur’s Gate 3 clearly wins the duel with Starfield on Steam
Who won in 2023? At the release on Steam, Baldur’s Gate had 450,982.3 average players and 875,343 at its peak.
Starfield reached 145,883.2 average players and 330,597 at its peak in September 2023 – so it had about one-third of the players of Baldur’s Gate 3 based solely on Steam numbers.
How is Starfield doing now? Starfield has continuously lost players since its release in 2023, every month there were fewer players on Steam than in the previous month.
Currently, there are on average 8,110.7 players online. Compared to the release month, that is a loss of 95%.
How is Baldur’s Gate 3 doing now? For Baldur’s Gate 3, patches and its good reputation are having an effect. Although Baldur’s Gate 3 lost players rapidly in the first 3 months, there was a significant upswing on Steam in December 2023 and January 2024.
Currently, an impressive 135,301.7 people are still playing the game on average. This is a loss of almost exactly 70% compared to the release month, even though that was earlier than Starfield’s.
What should be considered? Steam is not the only platform where players can play Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3. Therefore, the player numbers on Steam are not an absolute comparison, but a relative one, restricted to the platform.
What’s behind this: The numbers thus confirm a general sentiment towards Starfield, which was probably not ideally prepared for the post-release period. There was a lack of updates that could still be sent afterward. Many players probably wished for a new incentive to dive back into Starfield, especially during the Christmas holidays.
But not everything is gold with Baldur’s Gate 3 either. Many praised the extremely polished Act 1 in Early Access, but also criticized that Act 2 rapidly declined and Act 3 was so bugged that it was hardly playable. Some testers recommended players to wait half a year with Baldur’s Gate 3 to enjoy the great game without the many bugs.
Here, Larian had some work ahead of them, which they were apparently willing to undertake.
More about Starfield: Starfield has only moderate reviews on Steam – Can the new major update improve the mood?
