How to fix Baldur's Gate 3 slow Steam download

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The player character looking across a town courtyard in Baldur's Gate 3.
August 31, 2023: Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has been out for some time, we've updated our download guide!

Struggling with your Baldur's Gate 3 Steam downloading slowly? The much-anticipated D&D RPG is finally out now, but the lack of a preload feature means everybody has to download the game all over again.

Sadly, some users are reporting incredibly slow download times on Steam, as they try to install the full version of Baldur's Gate 3 onto their device. We'll try and give you some helpful pointers in this guide.

While you're here, be sure to check out our Baldur's Gate 3 race tier list and class tier list to help make the best build in all of Faerun. We've also got some tips on how to level up fast, ensuring you're always ahead of the competition.

How do I fix Baldur's Gate 3 downloading slowly on Steam?

If you're having trouble downloading Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam, you likely aren't the only one. Given it's only just launched in its public version, thousands of RPG fans will all be attempting to download it at once. This will inevitably have an effect on the servers, which may explain why your download is taking longer than usual.

Regardless, here are some tips to help make the download go quicker.

Close other programs

If your PC is downloading Baldur's Gate 3 from Steam while also running a web browser or other software requiring a network connection, this could be slowing things down. There's no harm in closing as many other programs as you can, so your device is solely focused on getting that beastly install done.

A group of warriors stood on a cliffside in Baldur's Gate 3.
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Restart your router

This is a risky one because there's always a chance that turning your network connection on and off could entirely cancel the download of Baldur's Gate 3 off of Steam.

However, if things are crawling at a snail's pace, it could be a problem with your network. A simple off-and-on situation should refresh things a little bit, even if the problem is likely due to Steam's servers.

As an additional note on this point, if you're able to hook your PC up using a wired connection, such as through an ethernet port, now's the time to do so. It'll help make things a lot faster.

Check the servers

This is likely your best option because Baldur's Gate 3 downloading slowly on Steam is likely due to the sheer quantity of people trying to install it at once. Steam and Larian will no doubt be aware of this, and hotfixes could potentially arrive to bolster the servers and make everybody's download that bit quicker.

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Keep an eye on the DownDetector website, which currently lists Steam as having problems. Once those clear up and the website reflects that change, your download should be a bit faster.

So there you have it, those are all the fixes we have for when Baldur's Gate 3 is downloading slowly on Steam. To help that install time go by faster, read up on all Baldur's Gate 3 quests, as well as the best weapons to use in battle. We've also got some handy progression guides, for instance, whether you should take the Mountain Pass or the Underdark to reach Moonrise Towers.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Baldur's Gate 3 page.