Why There’s A Surge of New Players in Path of Exile
There’s a ton of new players that are trying Path of Exile for the first time and the established community for the game is welcoming them with open arms.
Back in 2020, tons of players experienced Path of Exile for the very first time. With the pandemic happening and everyone required to stay at home, online gaming has become a getaway of sorts for gamers and even non-gamers. Grinding Gear Games has been setting records for player hours, but 2020 was the year where they had the most influx of newbies. It’s looking like the increase of players shows no signs of stopping as well. According to the general manager of Grinding Gear Games, there has been an increase of 17% in terms of player hours. There are several reasons why this is has happened apart from the usual excuses like players farming PoE currency and Exalted Orbs.
The Hype in Echoes of the Atlas
Besides the usual grinding and looting of PoE currency and Exalted Orbs, Path of Exile is an online ARPG that’s continuously evolving. New content and patch updates were the norms for games of this level. The Echoes of the Atlas expansion, specifically, emphasizes Path of Exile’s core mechanics in such a way that it brings new like to the traditional grind that players do every day. Grinding Gear Games has always had an eye for tinkering and experimenting, and perhaps that is the secret to their success. Echos of the Atlas was a much-hyped expansion before its release and is considered by some to be one of the best expansions that Grinding Gears has put out so far. People have to remember that Path of Exile has been present in the online gaming industry for years. With over 35 expansions, hundreds if not thousands of patch updates, and millions of players around the world, Grinding Gear Games will always have to pull out all the stops for every expansion they put out if they want the number of players to increase. As of late, Echoes of the Atlas has been replaced by yet another new expansion called the Ultimatum.
Expectations for Path of Exile 2
It’s no secret these days that Grinding Gear Games has been working around the clock for its sequel game, Path of Exile 2. Granted it doesn’t have a release date yet, the announcement stream for it that was held on April 2021 showcases a 20-minute gameplay presentation about what to expect. In a nutshell, what the announcement showed were new weapons to play around with, a full campaign at launch, enhanced skill systems, and updated graphics. Altogether, it was a package the players were hoping for from Grinding Gear Games and since it’s also stated that their characters and purchases can be carried over from the first game, players have been gearing themselves up in anticipation for the sequel. One can argue that now is the perfect time to dive into Path of Exile where the number of players is at its highest and there’s a lot of content to sift through.
An Upcoming Mobile Version
One of the things that hasn’t been talked about all that much is that Path of Exile is coming to mobile phones. Imagine playing a sprawling, open-world online gaming experience with just a wee phone that’s conveniently placed in one’s pocket. Anyone can enter the world of Wraeclast and start playing thanks to mobile phones. The downside is that there’s no definitive date or even year as to when this will be done. The team that’s supervising the mobile port of Path of Exile is also handling Path of Exile 2. It’s safe to say that their hands are tied at the moment with the sequel since it’s such a big game. Players can assume that there will be more news about this project once Path of Exile 2 is released. While they’re not going to see a wild mobile port of their favorite game anytime soon, it’s nice to know that Grinding Gear Games has plans of doing it.
Final Thoughts
Path of Exile is one of the best action roleplaying games that anyone can sink their teeth into right now. Thanks to the dungeon crawler being free-to-play, potential gamers have easy access to at least trying the game out for themselves to see if they like it. Plus, who doesn’t love to farm PoE currency and Exalted Orbs on the go? Indeed, there are many fantasy worlds that one can explore since the boom of online gaming, but Path of Exile offers an experience that’s unlike any other so far. It’s no surprise that there are a lot of new players these days, especially with their recent presentation of the sequel, Path of Exile 2. What do you think about the recent increase of players in Path of Exile? Let us know your perspective on this down below.
