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Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox Series S is finally getting splitscreen co-op in Patch 8

PC, Xbox, and PlayStation crossplay are also finally arriving in Patch 8.

January 28, 2025 11:55 AM

The next big patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 is rolling out and it has some grand new features for players in 2025. Perhaps most important for Xbox Series S players with friends is that splitscreen co-op will finally be available in Patch 8. Even then, other players get all sorts of goodies, too. For one, crossplay co-op parties across consoles and PC are finally being implemented in this coming update.

Larian Studios shared details about the stress test launch of Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 in a Steam Developer Blog post this week. One of the toplines of this patch is that players can finally start local co-op runs on Xbox Series S with the implementation of the splitscreen feature that has been on other platforms up to this point. What’s more, those who have been playing online, but don’t have their pals on the same platform, will be able to take advantage of newly implemented crossplay (which is a big part of what the stress test is meant to help fine tune).

The Patch 8 stress test is now live!

✉️ Look out for an email invite
🐛 Read the Patch 8 highlights
👥 Find out how to host a cross-play lobby
👁️ Take a look at known issues
🎮 Plus, split-screen is coming to Xbox Series S!

Read Community Update #33: https://t.co/FnyZ38lxPv pic.twitter.com/Q5aH8Eawp2
— Baldur's Gate 3 (@baldursgate3) January 28, 2025

One of the more interesting aspects of this latest update is that players on crossplay parties will be able to play with mods on within reason. Some of the specifics include that joining a PC player with mods can only happen if the PC player has less than 100 mods (seems doable) installed and those mods all fall under the Available on Mac and Console tag in the mod marketplace. PC-only mods won’t fly in a crossplay party.

Nonetheless, bringing the Xbox Series S up to feature parity and launching crossplay is a huge late step for Baldur’s Gate 3. As we watch for more updates and news, stay tuned to the Baldur’s Gate 3 topic here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.

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