Larian Wants Divinity on Steam Deck, Baldur’s Gate 3 May Make It Possible

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios wants to get its next game running on the Steam Deck, but it’s not officially confirmed at time of writing. But a recent Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' with Larian has left us convinced it could be happening, here's why we think this.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was one of the best games of 2023, launching to heaps of praise and awards for its RPG storytelling and cinematic visuals.

I’ve always enjoyed playing games like this on a handheld device. In my opinion, long-winded RPGs work best when you’re playing them on the comfort of a small screen in a cosy chair. Or bed.

Although Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t available on the Nintendo Switch 2, and probably won’t ever be, Steam Deck owners can safely enjoy it without any major performance issues.

Prior to launch, when the game was in Steam Early Access, Baldur’s Gate 3 was simply listed as “playable” on Steam Deck, and didn’t have the proper optimisations in place to get it running well on the system.

Following the game’s 1.0 launch in August 2023 though, the game was officially promoted to Verified on Steam Deck, meaning players should expect a great experience on the platform.

Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios

Divinity May Be Playable On Steam Deck, As Baldur's Gate 3 Was

It looks like Larian wants the same for Divinity, its next RPG that was announced at The Game Awards in December.

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything last week, Larian’s technical director Bert Van Semmertier responded to a question confirming that the developer will be aiming for Divinity to be Steam Deck Verified on the platform.

“We all love the Steamdeck! Since BG3 was one of the most played games on the platform, we will do our best to again release on the platform,” wrote Van Semmertier in a post.

If you head over to Valve’s official list of the top played games in the last year on Steam Deck, Baldur’s Gate 3 ranks in fourth place, behind Stardew Valley, Balatro, and Hades II.

Other games that appear in the top 10 include Hollow Knight (and its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong), Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Given the apparent RAM and GPU shortages that have plagued gaming over the past few months, players are less likely to be upgrading their hardware while prices are high.

As such, I’d imagine more game developers will be targeting older PCs in order to sell more copies of their games, which makes me believe that Divinity will still run well on the Steam Deck in years to come.

Come on Larian - it'd be amazing if this happened!