Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 Is Now Live, Will Test Cross-Play And Split-Screen Co-Op

Earlier this week, some Baldur’s Gate 3 players mistakenly received early access to Patch 8–the final major update for the game–before its scheduled stress test. Now, Larian Studios has announced that the Patch 8 stress test is live, and it’s introducing several new features including cross-play.

To familiarize players with the way cross-play will function, Larian has also released the following video that walks through the necessary steps to join up with friends who are playing on separate consoles or PC.

Prior to launching Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series X, Larian was forced to drop the split-screen feature from Xbox Series S. After Patch 8, Series S users will finally get the split-screen option that Series X players have enjoyed since 2023.

Photo Mode is another prominent addition in Patch 8, alongside the 12 new subclasses that players can select. Larian notes that there are some known bugs that are still being worked out, which is why the stress test is being used to identify these issues before the official Patch 8 rollout begins to every player.

Once Larian wraps up its work on Patch 8, the studio’s full attention will go to its next project, codenamed Excalibur. Any potential sequel to Baldur’s Gate 3 will be developed by other studios. You can find the Patch 8 highlights below, but beware of some of the spoilers in there.

Patch 8 Highlights

• Photo mode
• 12 new subclasses
• Cross-play
• Xbox Series S split screen

Gameplay

• When you succeed a Perception check, the spotted item will now ping on the minimap and be listed in the combat log.
• Fixed an issue where the special abilities of some of your allies weren’t properly provided at the end of the dialogue with them at High Hall.
• Scrolls and potions inside unlocked containers in your party inventory can now be used when rolling in dialogues.
• Neutral and friendly NPCs will no longer become hostile when, outside of combat, they walk into surfaces created during combat that trigger passives (like electrified surfaces triggering Thunderbolt Strike). Take it easy, lads.
• Fixed Freecast being reset when any condition is applied.
• Fixed characters getting stuck when pathfinding via a ladder that’s already in use by another companion.
• Fixed a bug with the moving platform in the Gauntlet of Shar that would sometimes leave you behind, causing you to plummet to your death.

Combat

• Fixed an issue causing neutral NPCs to trigger combat for seemingly no reason.
• Cerys will stop getting involved in combats with Minthara from across the region. An eager beaver no longer.

Modding

• Fixed an issue causing you to get stuck at a 0% loading screen when attempting to join a multiplayer session that uses mods.
• The Mod Verification window will now trigger regardless of where the request to connect to a multiplayer game is coming from.
• Replaced the third-party mod warning with clearer messaging.

Performance and Options

• Fixed the ruleset selector not appearing on the ‘Alter Custom Mode’ screen when accessing the ruleset settings via the multiplayer lobby.
• Improved server performance in the Adamantine Forge.

Scripting and Flow

• Fixed an issue where you could tell Astarion that Gandrel has been looking for him even if Gandrel refused to tell you the name of his prey.
• Fixed a savegame issue where you wouldn’t get the appropriate amount of Umbral Gems for the Gauntlet of Shar.
• Minthara now comments on reveal.
• Reminded Minthara that ‘knocked out’ does not mean ‘dead’, so she’ll more reliably appear in Moonrise Towers.
• You can no longer teleport out of Moonrise while controlling Minthara unless you tell her to stay put.
• Minthara is now willing to talk to you after you tell her to wait in the torture chamber.
• Minthara no longer gets stuck babysitting Thaniel in Act II.
• Fixed an issue where you could talk about Art Cullagh as though he’s alive even if he isn’t.
• Your character will no longer think Shadowheart is dead if she isn’t when talking to
• Characters who were in a relationship with Gale when he will now receive a tonally appropriate (read: lovey-dovey) letter.
• Fixed a dialogue issue preventing Avatar Gale from talking about the orb to Lae’zel after consuming a magic item.

UI

• Discovered and available (non-hostile, alive, etc.) traders are now shown on the world map regardless of how far away you are from them.

Cinematics

• Shadowheart has agreed to stop repeatedly changing her hair colour during certain intimate moments.
• Tidied up and improved some cinematic animations for characters of different heights if you kiss during the evil ending.

Writing

• Fixed a duplicated dialogue option and the wrong version of another dialogue option appearing in Minthara’s main party dialogue.