For many fans, it was a shock to hear that co-founder Chris Wilson Path of Exile has left. Now he appears in front of the camera for the first time in a long time, and fans immediately find hints about his future.
Who is it about? Chris Wilson, the former face and co-founder of Path of Exile, left his own development studio Grinding Gear Games at the beginning of the year. This was surprising for many fans, although he had not shown up for a long time.
Wilson was for many the face of Path of Exile before Jonathan Roger took on this role. Not much was known about his departure until now. The lead developer has appeared in front of a camera for the first time again, but even more exciting is what is hidden in the description of the channel.
Here you can see the trailer for the current season of Path of Exile:
New game and details about the exit
What is hidden in the channel description? In the channel description, there is a link to the personal website ChrisWilson.gg, which contains many details about the life of the former head. It reveals that he has founded a new studio.
His new studio Light Pattern is working with a small team on the development of an undisclosed project. While not much is revealed about the game, there is a job posting for the position of “Art Director,” who is responsible for giving the game its visual style.
However, there is an interesting point in the description of the position. As a requirement, one must: “Have a deep familiarity with Diablo II. Not just play it but understand what makes the world, the art, and the systems of the game so impactful.”
For fans on Reddit, this is a strong hint that Chris Wilson is working on a game that takes Diablo II as a model, just like Path of Exile did back then. If that’s the case, it will take many years before a playable version of the potential competitor for Path of Exile 2 is ready.
What is known about his departure? When Chris Wilson left Path of Exile, it was initially published in February 2024 via the New Zealand “Companies Office“. At that time, users were already wondering what was going on, but Chris Wilson responded that he had not resigned and that it was just an error that would be corrected.
In early 2025, there was again such a notification, but this time it was supposed to be true. However, as Chris Wilson now confirms on his website ChrisWilson.gg, the first notification was indeed correct.
His departure reads as follows: “After leading Grinding Gear Games for 17 years, I resigned at the end of 2023.” The comment from March 2024, in which he confirmed the opposite on Reddit, was therefore not true.
Why Chris Wilson never announced his official resignation and why there was no proper farewell from the co-founder remains unknown. On YouTube, he still celebrates Diablo II and speaks directly with the creator David Brevik in his first video.
Chris Wilson remains the face of Path of Exile for many to this day. In the past, he has commented on various issues in the gaming world. He made headlines when he demanded that the MMORPG New World be subjected to a wipe: Chef von Path of Exile speaks about the problems of New World: ‘Would conduct a major wipe’
