Path of Exile players have been enjoying the new Patch 3.3.0 since June 1, which brings not only a new league but also other content. The release of the patch has led to a new record number of active players.
The developers at Grinding Gears Games can pat themselves on the back right now. Even though the Bestiary League, the last league of PoE, wasn’t particularly well received by players, it seems that this has not harmed the player count.
On the contrary: with the 3.3.0 update and the new Incursion League, the numbers have risen even further than before.
95,000 – Increasing Trend
What do the current player numbers look like? It is not unusual for Path of Exile that player counts initially shoot up after a major content update. Even during the Bestiary League, the last league of PoE, player counts were, according to Grinding Gears Games’ statement, higher than ever.
This seems to be repeating itself, as since the 3.3.0 update, the number of active players on Steam has remained stable between 95,000 and 98,000, reaching a peak never seen before.
However, the actual number of players is likely to be well over 100,000 when considering other platforms not included in the Steam statistics.
Time Travel for Loot
What were the contents of the update? In the latest league, Path of Exile sends its players back in time to find the lost temple of Atzoatl.
The decisions and actions of players in the past have a strong influence on the rooms and thus also the enemies and treasures within the temple. For example, one can destroy doors in the past that would otherwise block access to new areas in the temple in the future.
With this league, Grinding Gears also aimed to strengthen the core element of Path of Exile’s gameplay, namely the killing of massive hordes of monsters, of which there are plenty in the temple.
You can watch the trailer here:
Additionally, the 3.3.0 update brought a complete overhaul of the Vaal Skill Gems, 32 completely new items, and many other contents. You can view the complete list in the patch notes on the official site.
What does Grinding Gears have planned next? Grinding Gears’ previous strategy was to alternate the release of expansions and leagues. However, it seems the developer is now changing this strategy.
The clear separation between expansions and leagues has already been quite blurred in the content of the past Bestiary league. The developers at Grinding Gears have decided to continue this strategy and are already working on a major expansion that will go live later in 2018.
