Larian Studios has released Hotfix 34 for Baldur's Gate 3, the main innovation of which is a native version of the game for Steam Deck. The RPG now runs directly under SteamOS without the Proton compatibility layer, which reduces the load on the processor and memory, providing more stable framerates, faster loading times, and smoother gameplay.
According to studio head Sven Vinke, the idea came from an engineer who started working on a native build in his spare time because he "really wanted to see a smoother version of the game on Steam Deck." The result was so successful that the team decided to officially release the update, PC Gamer reports.
Upgrading to the new version may require manual transfer of saves if Steam Cloud is disabled, as they will be stored in a different directory after the update. Mods will be automatically pulled in via your Larian account and mod.io, but can be installed manually if needed.
In addition to the native SteamOS build, Hotfix 34 fixed a number of bugs, from Xbox crashes and Honor Mode freezes to audio and animation issues. In particular, it fixed a bug that caused the Apostle of Myrkul boss to regenerate health when loading a save game during combat.
Baldur's Gate 3 exited early access in 2023 and is still receiving regular updates with new features and fixes.