Very much like "-insert game- killer", "-insert game- in the New -insert another game-" is a meaningless clickbait phrase most of the time.
Yes, BG3 is a very successful title that also belongs to a sprawlng genre of "RPG", yes. Considering how different both titles are, I am not sure any other connection can be done between the two, or how much audience overlap there is. Is Elden Ring "new Skyrim" as well?
If there is comparison to be made, it's probably Dragon Age: Origins - a big budget cRPG production making a niche genre approachable to a wider audience.
As to:
The fact that the actors are just as charismatic outside of the game, and so actively involved in the community, has allowed fans to connect with their characters even more than some of the most beloved parties in the medium, from Mass Effect to Final Fantasy 7.
Seeing Neil Newbon stream his playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, or watching everyone reunite with High Rollers to play a game of Dungeons & Dragons, has made them inseparable from the game. Lydia, Delvin, Cicero, and so many other Skyrim characters became icons in their own right, but the Baldur’s Gate 3 cast is iconic beyond the game. They have cemented so many of these characters in gaming history because of that, and I’m sure that the likes of Astarion, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Karlach, and Gale will be as relevant as Baldur’s Gate 3 as the years march on.
It sounds like a vocal minority thinking that everyone follows BG3 social media content as much as they do. I am sure there is an audience which is engage that way, but it's not why Skyrim or BG3 is successful. It is just part of it. Key of any mass appeal product is to appeal to as many demographics as possible. Among 15 millions of sold copies, I imagine relatively few engage with BG3 "community" or have crush on actors behind the characters.
