The action role-playing game this week became the top-selling software on PC platform Steam’s charts in key markets from the US and Canada to France and the UK. — Steam
Tencent Holdings Ltd has a potential new hit on its hands with Path Of Exile 2, a game set to release on Dec 6.
The action role-playing game this week became the top-selling software on PC platform Steam’s charts in key markets from the US and Canada to France and the UK. Made by little-known New Zealand studio Grinding Gear Games, which Tencent owns, the in-development game will be open to play from Dec 6 for US$30. Its full version will be released in 2025.
Path Of Exile 2 surged past marquee titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Counter-Strike 2 on Steam, setting up high expectations after more than five years in development. Tencent over the past year acquired the remaining shares in GGG, after initially taking a majority stake in the wake of distributing 2013’s original Path Of Exile in China.
The Shenzhen-based publisher is hungry to develop what it calls evergreen games, titles that can sustain monetisation over the long run and help feed the company’s various content platforms. It invested heavily in promoting DnF Mobile this year and also touted PC shooter Valorant.
Path Of Exile 2 has been lauded by online streamers as a major leap forward for its genre, notable for its improvements over Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo 4, a defining game in the action RPG sphere. Its popularity will test the developer’s systems, as Game Director Jonathan Rogers has said Grinding Gear is preparing for as many as a million players during its early access. – Bloomberg
