The head of Path of Exile 2 already commented on the future of its predecessor before its release, and now it’s clear what he meant back then.
Before Path of Exile 2 was even released, media representatives had the opportunity to speak with boss Jonathan Rogers. In an open question and answer session I was able to ask him a few questions, including what the future of Path of Exile (1) looks like.
Who is writing here? Cedric Holmeier is a Path of Exile veteran and has known the game since the closed beta. Since then he has spent hundreds of hours in the game and always watches the first part. He also tested Path of Exile 2 for MeinMMO.
“Will Path of Exile 1 enter maintenance mode when Path of Exile 2 releases? And how long do you plan to support PoE 1 after the launch of PoE 2?”
Without hesitation, he replied that Path of Exile (1) will continue to receive updates, new leagues and support as long as it has players. He further explained: “I think both games can coexist well.” The predecessor doesn’t have to die for Path of Exile 2 to live.
At first I couldn’t really believe that, after all it’s quite common for new games to replace their predecessors. A week after the release, I’m starting to understand what he meant.
Here you can see how the bosses are created in Path of Exile 2:
Path of Exile 2: The new trailer tells you how the bosses of the action RPG are created
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More and more players are getting it
The fact that Path of Exile 2 and its predecessor are more different than one initially assumed seems to be slowly becoming apparent in the community. Be it that the level of difficulty is completely different and is more reminiscent of Dark Souls.
Or that the loot for professionals from the first part is a flaw in the otherwise fantastic game. The speed at which you run through the large levels is also much slower than in the first part. There is a lack of good movement skills and utility bottles that let you run through the first acts.
All of this gives a different feel to the game that not everyone likes. Some of the veterans and professionals from Path of Exile (1) currently seem dissatisfied with the path that the developers at Grinding Gear Games have chosen for Path of Exile 2. This seems to be exactly the difference that Jonathan Rogers indirectly predicted to me in the interview.
Both games have a future
Path of Exile 2 will probably always remain the harder, more Dark Souls-oriented game, which appeals to its own target group thanks to dodge roll and tough boss fights.
After the hype surrounding its successor, Path of Exile (1) will probably win back some of the regular players who find the original style of play better.
With the successor, the developers have not only created a competing product, but actually a new game with a new approach that is aimed at a different type of player.
If the seasons of the two Path of Exile games start at different times in the future, both games will probably have a large player base and a strong future. Even the boss of Diablo 4 wants to play Path of Exile 2 over the holidays: Path of Exile 2 is currently 45x bigger than Diablo 4 on Steam and even the boss is now playing with the competition