Baldur’s Gate 3 will get modding support and more in next patch

By Carli Velocci Published July 16, 2024

The half elf shadowheart stares pensively at glowing in her hands in Baldur's Gate 3. — Larian Studios

Despite Larian Studios moving on to new projects, it’s not abandoning Baldur’s Gate 3 just yet. The studio announced that Patch 7 is on the way in September, and it’s bringing some much-requested features, including the long-awaited modding toolkit. A post on Steam delves into more details surrounding the toolkit, along with new features like dynamic split-screen mode and improvements to the permadeath Honour Mode.

The modding kit uses Mod.io, so players can download mods on both PC and console. Larian will still allow players to make mods outside the toolkit, but using the software will be the best way to ensure mods will remain compatible with any future fixes. It also offers easy access to assets such as cosmetics, classes, the UI, and more, along with an interface that’s not just a long list of code.

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Many players have called for official mod support since the game was in early access, but it became more important after a hotfix in February broke a lot of mods. In response, director of publishing Michael Douse said on X (formerly Twitter) that the team had been working on a toolkit for a while, but that it still needed some work. While the toolkit was set to launch in Patch 7, the post makes it official.

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But Baldur’s Gate 3 patches always pack multiple updates. Patch 7 is also introducing a dynamic split-screen mode that allows players in co-op to explore farther away without having to be confined to the same screen. The game will activate split-screen if you’re far enough away from your fellow player, and will merge back into regular mode when you’re close together.

Larian has also added new cinematics for evil endings. While it won’t go into specifics, it did post a couple of teasers on the Steam page for you to theorize about. Similarly, there are improvements and bug fixes for Dark Urge players. And if you want a challenge, even more enemies have Legendary Actions (because permadeath wasn’t bad enough).

Finally, there will be improvements to dialogue and cinematics for basically every Origin character. For example, Astarion lovers will now be treated to better facial animations in kissing scenes.

Players can check out the updates in progress starting on July 22 when Patch 7 is added to the closed beta. You can register for the beta on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam page.

Larian promises in the announcement that Patch 7 won’t be the final update. It still wants to add crossplay and a photo mode before moving completely onto Baldur’s Gate 4 and other projects.

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Contributor, Games

Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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