Following a bit of a false start yesterday, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 8 stress test is now officially underway on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, giving select participants the opportunity to explore a range of new features ahead of its full release – with split-screen co-op support for Xbox Series S being the surprise (and long-awaited) inclusion.
Developer Larian detailed Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 8 back in November, promising 12 new sub-classes, cross-play, new camera features, and more. At the time, it revealed it would holding a closed stress test ahead of a full launch – in order to help it “catch things before they can become an issue” – with registrations having been open since then.
And now, the first wave of invites has gone out to successful applicants, and Patch 8’s stress test is live. Larian covers some key details relating to the release in an accompanying blog post, providing notes on the use of mods during cross-play, as well as instructions on requesting additional keys for participants wishing to explore cross-play with friends not yet in the test.
The big surprise, though, is confirmation that Patch 8 will also finally introduce split-screen co-op to Xbox Series S after an extremely long wait. The feature has proven to be a bit of a headache for Larian, and was initially blamed for Baldur’s Gate 3’s delayed release on Xbox back in 2023, as the studio struggled to optimise it sufficiently for Microsoft’s lower-spec console. In the end, Series S split-screen was dropped completely and wasn’t included when the game finally launched for Xbox Series X/S in December 2023.
And it seemed like that was that. But now – more than 12 months later – Larian has confirmed the feature has made the cut for Patch 8, meaning it’s just squeaked into Baldur’s Gate 3’s very last content update. There’s not much more to report on its inclusion, however, with Larian simply noting stress test participants on Xbox can try it out early starting today.
Larian hasn’t yet said how long it expects the stress test to last before Patch 8’s full release, but Baldur’s Gate 3 players eager to get involved can still register their interest on its website.