The development of Path of Exile has been slow in recent months, and now one of the most important developers is leaving the studio.
What is the status of Path of Exile? Path of Exile is in a crisis. Since the launch of the Settlers League at the end of July 2024, there have been no new content released for the ARPG. The reason for this lies in the successor, PoE2. Contrary to the promises of the executives, the developers of the studio have been pulled off the classic and assigned to the development of Path of Exile 2.
After players of the predecessor complained more and more, the head of Grinding Gear Games admitted that they really broke the promise and currently needed the resources for PoE2. The community went on strike and managed to get at least some developers to provide PoE1 with new content again. This led to the event league “Legacy of Phrecia,” which should revive the game with 19 fresh sub-classes.
Although the new league is well received after the dry spell, there is still a lack of proper updates for PoE1. Moreover, the new event league is already ending after one month, presumably in favor of Path of Exile 2, as the launch of update 0.2.0 has already been announced for this period, which may bring a new season and perhaps even a new class. For the players of the predecessor, the next setback follows: A prominent figure has apparently left the company.
You can watch the 19 new sub-classes in Path of Exile in this trailer:
Studio founder leaves the team
Who has left the company? As documented by a registration in the New Zealand “Companies Office” (via companiesoffice.govt.nz), Grinding Gear Games co-founder Chris Wilson has left the company. According to the registration, he has been removed as director. Grinding Gear Games was founded in 2006 by Chris Wilson, Jonathan Rogers, and Erik Olofsson.
Olofsson left several years ago, while Chris Wilson was something like the face of Path of Exile 1 for the players. He appeared in numerous update videos, forum posts, and Reddit threads. For the players, Wilson’s departure represents a significant loss as many considered him the most important creator of their favorite game (via Reddit).
Why is he leaving the company? The exact reasons for his departure are unknown, but Chris Wilson had been appearing less frequently in the past and seemed less involved lately. Over a year ago, users on Reddit asked if he had stepped down as director after a similar message was published by the New Zealand “Companies Office”.
In his last message on Reddit, he denied his departure but has not appeared since then. Grinding Gear Games, the studio behind Path of Exile and its successor, was bought by Tencent in 2018. In 2024, Tencent took over the last shares of the studio and now has full control over Path of Exile (via companiesoffice.govt.nz).
Whether there is more behind the stalled development of Path of Exile 1 or if there will soon be a full new season for Path of Exile 1 after the update 0.2.0 of its successor remains to be seen. The players of Path of Exile 2 are now through with the game and are experimenting, for example, with how fast a character can become: Player builds fastest character in Path of Exile 2, making it unplayable
