Path of Exile 1 players have been dealing with a long content drought, and frustration is building. When Grinding Gear Games (GGG) first announced Path of Exile 2, they assured everyone that PoE 1 would still get expansions. But after Settlers of Kalguur dropped in July, things started falling apart. The PoE 1 team couldn’t keep up with development timelines, and the 3.26 expansion—originally expected in late October—got delayed again and again. Then PoE 2’s early access launch took priority, pushing PoE 1 even further down the list. Now, months later, PoE 1 players are still waiting.
Development Struggles and Resource Allocation
Jonathan Rogers, game director at GGG, admitted in a video announcement that they underestimated the challenge of developing both games at once. At first, they pulled some PoE 1 developers to help finish PoE 2’s endgame. But as PoE 2’s launch got closer, that wasn’t an option anymore—balance issues and stability problems took priority. The result? The 3.26 expansion was delayed indefinitely, and Rogers couldn’t even give a release date.
Player Backlash and Financial Expectations
PoE 1 players were not happy. Many of them have spent thousands on supporter packs and microtransactions, expecting the game to keep getting updates. Now they’re wondering why GGG didn’t just delay PoE 2 to 2025 so 3.26 could release on time. Instead, PoE 1 has been stuck in limbo, and with big game releases coming in early 2025, there’s a real fear that players will just move on.
GGG’s Temporary Solution: A One-Month Event
In an attempt to calm things down, GGG announced a one-month event with experimental mechanics, like completely reworking Ascendancy classes. Some players were happy to get something instead of complete silence, but others asked why this wasn’t done earlier. If GGG had time to throw together an event, why couldn’t they have given PoE 1 more attention?
Tencent’s Full Ownership and Its Impact on Decision-Making
Then there’s the ownership change. Tencent has held a majority stake in GGG since 2018, but now it looks like Chris Wilson, Jonathan Rogers, and Erik Olofsson sold their remaining shares to Sixjoy, a Tencent subsidiary. This means GGG is now fully under Tencent’s control. And Tencent has a reputation—short-term revenue, aggressive monetization, and streamer promotions over consumer-friendly game development.
The Disappearance of Chris Wilson and the Lack of Transparency
One of the strangest things about all this? Chris Wilson, the co-founder and longtime face of PoE, just… disappeared. No farewell message. No statement. Nothing. For years, Wilson was known for his transparency with the community, and now he’s just gone without a word.
That raises a lot of questions. Why was there no announcement about the ownership change? Why did Wilson leave so suddenly? The whole thing feels off. If there was internal conflict, NDAs might be keeping Wilson from saying anything. But whatever the reason, players deserved to know what was happening behind the scenes—especially considering how much has changed with both PoE 1 and PoE 2.
How Tencent’s Influence Affects Path of Exile 1 and 2
Looking at PoE 2’s launch, Tencent’s influence is already showing. The controversial Twitch Drops campaign, where players were encouraged to gift subscriptions to streamers instead of buying items directly from GGG, feels like classic Tencent marketing—maximizing visibility through influencers. Meanwhile, PoE 1 is stagnating, which suggests GGG is shifting focus to PoE 2 as the main revenue driver. Under Tencent’s full control, there’s no guarantee PoE 1 will get the same attention it used to.
Questionable Decisions
GGG announced Path of Exile: Legacy of Phrecia Event, which starts on February 20th. It took them less than a month to put this together. I have to ask: why didn’t they do this originally? I’m confused because, giving PoE 1 players something to do, is an obvious business decision. Think about this: they had content that was “done” but not used. The entire time, they could have taken three weeks to put it together as a smaller event. It took backlash for them to consider doing it.
Keep in mind: the GGG, we as players, are used to does not exist anymore. Change in ownership changes everything.
I’m truly concerned about the leadership at GGG, the direction they are going in and for the team because they do not seem to be thinking clearly. I’m happy the event is happening, players seem to be excited about it. I hope the event launches smoothly and everyone enjoys it.
