By Sagar V. Mankar 
Grinding Gear Games has launched the highly anticipated sequel to its hit action RPG, Path of Exile. With remarkable success even before its official release, Path of Exile 2 has captured the attention of fans worldwide. Here’s a closer look at its impressive metrics and reception.
Ahead of its Early Access launch on December 6, Path of Exile 2 achieved over one million sales through supporter packs, priced from $30. Despite initial server queues caused by overwhelming demand, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) quickly resolved many issues, ensuring smoother gameplay within days.
According to SteamDB, the game peaked at over 450,000 concurrent players on launch day, climbing to 578,569 concurrent users (CCU) by December 8. This places Path of Exile 2 as the 15th highest Steam game of all time in terms of peak concurrent players, while 3rd for 2024. For comparison, the original Path of Exile reached its peak of 229,300 CCU in July 2024 during the Settlers of Kalguur expansion.
Here is the list of the top 10 2024 games by peak concurrent players:
- Black Myth: Wukong — 2.4 million CCU
- Palworld — 2.1 million CCU
- Path of Exile 2 — 578,569 CCU
- Marvel Rivals (free-to-play) — 480,900 CCU
- Helldivers 2 — 458,700 CCU
- Throne and Liberty (free-to-play) — 336,300 CCU
- The First Descendant (free-to-play) — 264,800 CCU
- Last Epoch — 264,700 CCU
- Once Human (free-to-play) — 231,600 CCU
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 — 228,500 CCU
Meanwhile, Path of Exile 2 already ranks among the top 15 all-time peak games on Steam:
- PUBG: Battlegrounds — 3,257,248 CCU
- Black Myth: Wukong — 2,415,714 CCU
- Palworld — 2,101,867 CCU
- Counter-Strike 2 — 1,818,773 CCU
- Lost Ark — 1,325,305 CCU
- Dota 2 — 1,295,114 CCU
- Cyberpunk 2077 — 1,054,388 CCU
- Elden Ring — 953,426 CCU
- Banana — 917,272 CCU
- New World: Aeternum — 913,634 CCU
- Hogwarts Legacy — 879,308 CCU
- Baldur’s Gate 3 — 875,343 CCU
- Goose Goose Duck — 702,845 CCU
- Apex Legends — 624,473 CCU
- Path of Exile 2 — 578,569 CCU
Beyond Steam, the game is also available on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, along with its standalone launcher. This suggests the total player count is even higher, though consolidated platform data has yet to be disclosed by GGG.
The game has received a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, with 81% of the 42,700 user reviews praising its grim visuals, engaging mechanics, and bold innovations in the action RPG genre. Even Elon Musk has taken notice of the game, referring to it as “the love child of Elden Ring and Diablo.” However, some users found the slower pacing compared to the first installment.
It’s worth noting that Path of Exile 2 is not an indie project. Grinding Gear Games is majority-owned by Tencent, which acquired an 86.67% stake in the studio in 2018. Tencent views the game as a potential evergreen hit, akin to its recent title Delta Force, which peaked at over 100,000 CCU during Open Beta.
Looking ahead, the full version of Path of Exile 2 promises even more content. It will feature a campaign twice as long, spanning six acts, with 12 unique character classes. Currently, no release date has been planned for the free-to-play release, which is likely to drive player numbers even higher.
Sources: SteamDB, official Grinding Gear Games announcements, gameworldobserver.