The chief developer of Path of Exile spoke in an interview with MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski about why it is so important for him to stay true to the original community.
Path of Exile 2 is seen as one of the biggest competitors of Diablo 4. It is important to know that Path of Exile 2 will not be a completely new game. The hack-and-slash shares many contents with its predecessor. However, many game systems, such as equipment and classes, will be revised for the sequel. Of course, there will also be a new story campaign.
Path of Exile and the sequel are to continue running in parallel as service games. Both are free and both will be supported with updates and expansions.
In this context, MeinMMO spoke with the CEO and founder of Grinding Gear Games, Chris Wilson, about the target audience of Path of Exile 2. A fresh start with changes like those in Path of Exile 2 carries the risk of alienating the dedicated community. At the same time, a breath of fresh air is needed to attract new players.
Wilson hopes that former players will return and bring many friends
MeinMMO: Shortly after the announcement of Path of Exile 2, you mentioned in an interview (via Gamepedia) in 2019 that you were heavily invested in Guild Wars and immediately lost interest in that game after the announcement of Guild Wars 2. You said that this should not happen with Path of Exile and that taking the old community with you is very important. But how exactly do you plan to attract new players?
Chris Wilson: “One of the interesting things about Path of Exile is that it is a very social game that many people start. Because it is complicated, friends usually bring other friends. So if we have a large influx of players returning to the game, they usually bring a bunch of friends along.
The best way for us to attract new players is to get as many former players as possible to try out Path of Exile again. […]
Path of Exile has a sense of community. It requires someone to hold your hand a little. Other than that, we made it as simple as possible to install and play Path of Exile. It’s just that it certainly helps to talk to others who have experience with the game once you get to the complicated parts.
So our strategy is basically to make Path of Exile 2 as good as possible and then rely on the fact that countless millions of people around the world who have already enjoyed Path of Exile will hopefully come back for the sequel and bring along a larger social group.”
MeinMMO: So you are betting on the fresh start and that people will tell their friends that the entry is easier now?
Chris Wilson: “Exactly. You know, every Path of Exile expansion we released for the main game is a fresh start from an economic perspective. Each of the new leagues we create takes place on its own server.
So there is already a fresh start, but people will understand that much better with a sequel. It’s a kind of fresh knowledge start. You feel like you are not behind with your knowledge of the game. And that is then very useful.”
Too many changes could alienate players
MeinMMO: What was the most important lesson you learned as developers from Path of Exile, and how has it affected part 2?
Chris Wilson: “In Path of Exile, you get these gems, called Skill Gems, and you slot them into your items. Combined, they create cool abilities, which is a great system. The problem is that you shouldn’t slot the jewels into your items because that prevents you from swapping the items as you progress in the game. […]
And in the endgame, it’s even worse when you have your endgame armor and it’s basically perfect. You’ve spent so long connecting the six colored sockets in just the right colors together. And then you find another item that could be better. But to be honest, to use that, you have to spend a week sorting out the sockets.”
So we broke these systems down. There are still the Skill Gems, but now the sockets are on the gems themselves. So you take a Fireball gem and add additional sockets to it and slot more gems in. And that has exactly the same depth as the previous system. In fact, it allows us to do more things, which is pretty cool, but the actual items themselves are much easier to swap. […]
Honestly, we felt for a long time that we could never change it because it had such a big impact on the game. And it wasn’t until we decided officially to make a true sequel that we realized it was okay to change that.
Because any change like this is very disruptive for existing players. That is something that might cause them to say: Now I hate this game, I’m not going to play anymore. And that’s why we wanted to make sure it was the right decision before we committed to it. In this case, everyone dislikes this problem and everyone likes the solution. So we are quite confident that this won’t be the thing that makes players hate the sequel.
MeinMMO: Was there a particular moment when you realized that the changes to the gem system are possible, or was it a longer process?
Chris Wilson: “We felt that it wasn’t something we could ever change because it had such a big impact on the game. And it wasn’t until we officially decided to make a full sequel that we realized it was okay to change it.
Because any change like this is very disruptive for existing players. That’s something that might cause them to say: “I hate this game now, I’m not going to play anymore.” And that’s why we wanted to make sure it was the right decision before we committed to it. In this case, everyone found the problem annoying and everyone likes our solution. So we are quite confident that this won’t be the thing that makes them hate the sequel.”
The studio is in no hurry to release the mobile version
MeinMMO: In 2013, you started with Grinding Gear Games as a fresh company and were new to the gaming market, I assume. What are the biggest changes you’ve personally observed in the gaming industry in the past eight years?
Chris Wilson: “There have been a lot of changes and we are really trying hard to stay traditional here. We’re making a mouse and keyboard action RPG. The kind of game you would pick off the shelf in 2000.
When we started, everyone told us you need virtual reality. That’s the next thing. And then they said mobile gaming, you need to be on mobile, you have to do that and you have to be on consoles. And sure, we released a console version, yes, we are working on a mobile version, but those things came when we were really ready for them.
We are in no hurry to release the mobile version. We will release it in a few years when it’s ready. It’s not something we wanted to finish in 2008 when the app store boom happened. And that’s how the gaming industry changes. Nowadays, much more emphasis is placed on influencer marketing. And now cross-play and cross-compatibility are important. We are quite slow in doing all of that. We literally did our first paid campaigns with influencers this year, until then we hadn’t even dealt with proper influencer marketing.
We are quite cautious to ensure that we implement the roots of traditional PC gaming well, and then later branch into the new, interesting trends.”
A battle pass for Path of Exile would certainly be an option
MeinMMO: Do you think that a subscription system or something like a battle pass for Path of Exile would be feasible, where one receives certain cosmetics for paying monthly?
Chris Wilson: “Well, the tricky thing about battle passes is that you essentially buy a series of challenges that you have to complete. You receive visual, cosmetic rewards for doing that. So we would have two systems in Path of Exile. We already have challenges with the leagues that provide cosmetic rewards. Those are great, competitive challenges. They are included in the game.
We are concerned that if we say, okay, you can now buy challenges, people will say, okay, but I got them for free before. We also sell supporter packs whenever we release a league that gets people a bunch of microtransactions for that league. […]
So we are not opposed to the idea. It’s just that the obvious way to implement it would give quite a negative impression to players. And we are well aware of that. So it’s something we are still working on, but at the moment we have league challenges in the game and we have supporter packs that they can purchase over time.”
We need to ensure we only attract adults with Path of Exile
MeinMMO: Aren’t you afraid that you won’t attract any new younger players at all if you don’t bring in modernizations like a battle pass for Path of Exile?
Chris Wilson: “That’s a very good question. We want to remain loyal to the players who have supported us for so long. We want to ensure that any changes we make fully align with the philosophy we have been discussing with them for a while. Of course, it’s great if we can attract younger players and that happens somewhat organically.
However, we would be concerned if we attracted too young players because Path of Exile is quite a bloody game in some places. There’s some content that I wouldn’t want a 15-year-old to see, such as nudity, sexuality or violence. In Germany, Path of Exile has an age rating of 18. So we need to be careful that we really only appeal to adults here.
We have some players in their early twenties. Honestly, it’s great to appeal to adults who have established careers and want a game that requires thought. They also have jobs, which means they can pay us a lot for microtransactions.
So we are currently satisfied with our community demographics. But you are right. Finding ways to attract younger players would certainly help the longevity of the game. We just want to do it in a way that doesn’t upset the old players.”
Streamers play an important role in community events
MeinMMO: Since you mentioned influencer marketing earlier, could you imagine introducing features for streamers in Path of Exile?
Chris Wilson: “We’ve thought in the past about having modes where one streamer can challenge another, where the viewers can help make it difficult. There are a lot of fun possibilities with that. We’re currently discussing this internally.
If we did that, we would probably only do it in regular Path of Exile. We haven’t put as much development effort into that kind of community event lately because we’ve been so busy with core game work, but it’s honestly a cool area.
Streaming is obviously a lot of fun for players and the streamers love hosting races where they compete against each other and can commentate. And so we’ve developed various systems over time to allow them to host these community races.”
Tencent has no major influence on the development of Path of Exile
MeinMMO: Since 2018 you have been working with Tencent, but you don’t hear much about it. What has changed for you since then?
Chris Wilson: “I have to take on some additional tasks, such as accounting, financial reports, and I need to attend board meetings. Other than that, nothing has really changed. We continue to develop the game as we see fit.
Now a company is involved and not just individuals. It’s helpful from a support standpoint. I’m only talking to you [GameStar and MeinMMO] because Kramer [PR agent] from Tencent generously arranged this. That’s amazing because normally I do my day job and don’t really think about discussing the game with the media.”
MeinMMO: What benefits does the collaboration bring for the players?
Chris Wilson: “The additional resources we get there mean we can save our energy and money for the development of the game. Otherwise, I don’t believe it has a very large impact on the players. I mean it can, for example, mean that small companies don’t try to sue us over silly things. You have a large multinational corporation helping you out with that.
It’s just good for Grinding Gear Games to be a little protected because a big company is looking out for them. But to be honest, the player experience should not change.”
MeinMMO: Thank you very much for the conversation!
What about the beta launch and the mobile version?
During the interview, we also discussed a potential beta launch of Path of Exile 2 and the possible launch of a mobile version of the hack-and-slash.
When can we expect a release of Path of Exile 2? Not before 2022
Will there be a beta? Yes. However, it is still unclear when the beta test will start. Development of Path of Exile 2 is currently progressing more slowly than originally planned due to the global Corona pandemic.
How do you get access to the beta? You will not need to register separately for a beta. Grinding Gear Games wants to ensure that everyone currently playing Path of Exile can access the beta test of the sequel. Chances are good that there will be quick and guaranteed access for players who have invested significantly in supporter packs.
When is the release of Path of Exile Mobile planned? The game is expected to be released around the same time as Path of Exile 2, as the games share many systems. Development is progressing and the developers plan to share new information soon.
Do you plan to play Path of Exile 2? Feel free to let us know in the comments how you feel about the game. Are you currently playing the first part, or are you one of the former players?
