This new Baldur's Gate 3 update makes the game run way better on your Steam Deck

Baldur's Gate 3 has just been given a fresh new update that targets performance on the Steam Deck. Handled by a single engineer as a somewhat personal project, this new, native version of Baldur's Gate 3 looks to end the long-running doubts over whether the game ever actually deserved its verified status.

While the Steam Deck still sits atop our guide to the best gaming handheld, it undoubtedly struggles with big, triple-A experiences like Baldur's Gate 3. Most of the problems with BG3 on the Deck arise from Act 2, but its verified rating sometimes results in people believing it should run flawlessly throughout the game.

Hotfix 34 for Baldur's Gate 3 introduces a native Steam Deck version of the game, meaning performance should be much improved vs the Proton version that's been running up until now. Larian claims some of the improvements include lower loading times, smoother gameplay, and a more stable frame rate.

When the update is downloaded, the game won't boot into this new native version by default if you've been playing via Proton previously. However, Larian has provided a comprehensive guide both within the update and on its website to cover downloading the update, getting it to work, and some of the common problems that players may encounter, which finding where your saves are stored.

We might be two years removed from the launch of Baldur's Gate 3, but the game is in the top 10 games played in the past week, month, and year, according to Steam's data. This new native mode may bring more players into the fold, but ultimately, the game's popularity is still going strong, and it's great to see a developer still paying attention to the Steam Deck with such a valuable update.

As for how this all came about, Larian CEO Swen Vincke revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that an engineer who wanted a smoother version of the game to play on the Deck started working on the project out of hours. When devs in the studio had a chance to give it a try, they were convinced to take the project on for an official release.

Baldur's Gate 3 already sits on our list of the best Steam Deck games, but this update looks to make it even better. Elsewhere, if you're on the lookout for some new handheld upgrades, you can check out our best Steam Deck accessories guide.

Will you be giving this new version of Baldur's Gate 3 a try? If so, let us know what you think over on our community Discord server.