Path of Exile 2 is just around the corner, at least for those who bought into its early access supporter program. With the understandable hype around this promising aRPG, the developers have issued a warning up front: Expect queue times and brace for a bumpy (network) ride.
In a post on X, Grinding Gear Games co-founder Jonathan Rogers commented on the game surpassing a million early access purchases ahead of its launch. While he was happy and excited to share the information, he remarked that the developers did not expect the early access program to draw in over a million people, and thus fears that queue times will be a reality during the launch weekend. Quickly trying to tie things up, GGG has set up additional servers to handle the load, though as Rogers says, it is unclear if the backend of PoE 2 will be able to handle such massive numbers simultaneously.
Despite all the anticipated hurdles, Rogers thanked the community for their continued, massive support. “Thank you guys so much for believing in this project. If we do run into server issues at launch, just know that we’re going to be working as hard as we can to solve them,” Rogers said. The first Path of Exile game was one of the most popular aRPGs in history, drawing heavily upon the likes of Diablo 2 for inspiration while also offering a free-to-play, live-service model. The second game seems to be aiming for unprecedented heights, with it, too, planning for a free-to-play launch in about six months, according to its Steam page.
The fact that so many people have opted to purchase the title in spite of its planned free-to-play release is evidence enough of the excitement surrounding it, so let’s hope the devs manage to handle this colossal influx of players over the weekend.
