While many had already considered the action RPG a more-or-less dead genre, Path of Exile had other ideas back in 2013. Pulling the genre up by its bootstraps, Grind Gear Games released a new, competent, online, free-to-play action RPG the likes of which hadn’t been seen for a time.
Since then, the game has had a loyal player base. But as with any long-running title, the question of the game’s lifespan has been called into question in recent years. The question is, will Path of Exile continue strong for years to come?
Strong Player Counts
While you would think that player counts would be dwindling almost ten years after release, the opposite is in fact true. Looking back at the steam charts, upon release Path of Exile remained at around 10,000 average players until dropping to hover around 5,000 for a number of years. Since then, the numbers have only trended one way—up.
Reaching average player counts of 54,000 in 2018 and still holding above 40,000 in many monthly averages, it’s clear that PoE has as strong a player base as ever. And while those numbers are not as eye-watering as the most popular titles out there, the fact that the game still has a strong number of average players indicates the game is not at all in danger.
It’s also worth noting that player counts vary greatly month-on-month, mainly due to how the game is split into discrete leagues, with each new league seeing a new spike in players.
If you’re yet to feature in the player count—why not dive into Path of Exile today? Whether you’re new or a returning player, if you’re looking to skip the early game you can always head on over to Eldorado to get your hands on cheap PoE currency, high-level items, decked-out PoE accounts, and even some boosting.
Active Community
From the active player count, it’s easy to see that the game has a strong community. But if you go further into the online presence of the game—be it on Reddit, Discord, or Twitch—you’ll be able to witness the passion many still have for the title.
Much of this passion is thanks to the fact Path of Exile’s innovative mechanics and gameplay cater to those looking to optimize, create exciting builds and get hardcore with the game’s systems. This can be felt both within and outside of the game, meaning that those looking for community will be pleased with Path of Exile.
A Strong Title in an Empty Marketplace
Path of Exile can also attribute some of its success to its genre. Its action-RPG styling may have once found itself a mainstay of gaming but in recent history gaming trends have side-lined the genre leaving only market-leading legacy titles like Diablo.
This means that Path of Exile scratches an itch for many gamers which simply cannot be scratched any other way. This fact is only furthered by the title’s tight gameplay, complex systems, many classes, and replayability. What’s more, it’s totally free.
In short, Path of Exile offers something that few other games today do, keeping the game (and genre)’s fanbase hooked.
Path of Exile 2
Path of Exile 2 was announced back in 2019, with a new story and plenty of new features. While this could spell the death of the original game, it is said the new game will provide an alternative route to a shared endgame.
While we’re still speculating exactly how this will play out, it may well mean that both Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2 will exist in tandem—allowing the original title to live on while also reaping the benefits of even more expansions from the second.
Is Path of Exile Dying?
Between strong player counts, a big community, and developer Grinding Gear Games’ commitment to the title, Path of Exile seems to have a strong future ahead. In short, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Path of Exile dying any time soon.