Path of Exile 2's Early Access Momentum Draws Major Praise Ahead of Free-to-Play 1.0

Path of Exile 2 is approaching one of the biggest milestones in its young life. Grinding Gear Games' action RPG is scheduled to reach version 1.0 on December 11, ending an early access period that began roughly two years ago. When that moment arrives, the game will make the planned transition to a free-to-play model.

That would already be a major turning point for any long-running online RPG, but Path of Exile 2 is not entering launch from a position of uncertainty. Its paid early access period has built a remarkably large audience, including a recorded peak concurrent player count of 578,562. With a figure like that achieved while access required a purchase, there is understandable interest in how much bigger the community could become once the initial price barrier disappears.

Michael Douse, Larian Studios' director of publishing, has offered an especially enthusiastic assessment of the strategy and of the game's current state. In comments posted on X, Douse called the approach "fucking genius," arguing that the volume of early access sales has been so substantial that the studio's position is already extremely strong ahead of the free-to-play launch.

Embedded X/Twitter post

A paid early access period with a free-to-play destination

The route Path of Exile 2 has taken is notable because it combines two models that can sometimes be viewed as opposites. Players have paid for early access while the game has been under active development, but the full 1.0 release is intended to be free to play. That setup lets committed players get involved early while also allowing the eventual launch to open the doors to a far wider potential audience.

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For Grinding Gear Games, the approach appears to have delivered more than simply a test environment. Early access has brought in a huge population of players while the developers continue to refine systems, add content, and prepare the game for its formal debut. A community of that scale also creates an enormous amount of gameplay data and feedback, which is particularly meaningful for an action RPG built around complex character progression, loot, combat balance, and long-term replayability.

Douse's point is not that Path of Exile 2 will cease to need a sustainable business model after 1.0. Rather, his praise centers on the strength of its paid opening phase. In his view, Grinding Gear Games has already sold enough copies during early access that the company is in an enviable position as it prepares to welcome players who may wait until the game is free to download.

"Path of Exile 2 is so fucking genius because they're selling so many copies it won't even matter if nobody buys anything when it goes free," Douse wrote.

That is deliberately hyperbolic praise, but it captures why the game's launch plan has attracted attention. Free-to-play releases often face intense pressure to turn a large player count into purchases over time. Path of Exile 2, by contrast, has already demonstrated that a substantial portion of its audience was willing to pay to access an unfinished version. That provides a powerful foundation as the game moves closer to its complete release.

Strong words from a prominent RPG figure

Douse is well known in the RPG space through his role at Larian Studios, the company behind Baldur's Gate 3. His comments carry extra weight because they come from someone working at a studio with direct experience of building, publishing, and supporting one of the era's most successful role-playing games.

He was equally direct in his appraisal of Path of Exile 2's quality during early access, saying it is "so good" in its current form. Douse also compared it favorably with Diablo 4 at its own 1.0 launch, describing Path of Exile 2's early access state as obviously stronger than Blizzard's action RPG was at release.

"It is so obviously much better than Diablo 4 1.0 in its EA state," Douse added. "Those guys are the absolute best at what they do."

Comparisons between Path of Exile and Diablo have long been inevitable. Both occupy the action RPG space defined by isometric combat, enemy-dense encounters, randomized rewards, deep builds, and an enduring pursuit of stronger equipment. Yet the two series have also developed distinct identities and communities. Diablo remains one of the most recognizable names in the genre, while Path of Exile has earned its following through layers of mechanical depth and a development philosophy that has consistently emphasized long-term engagement.

Any one developer's praise is still an opinion rather than an objective verdict on either game. It is also difficult to make direct player-count comparisons across franchises. Public concurrency information for Path of Exile 2 has supplied a clear peak figure, while equivalent statistics for Diablo games are not readily comparable due to their primary connection to Battle.net rather than a public Steam-style tracking ecosystem.

Still, the available Path of Exile 2 number is hard to dismiss. More than half a million concurrent players at peak represents a huge early access turnout, especially for a game that has not yet reached its free-to-play 1.0 phase.

What 578,562 concurrent players suggests

A concurrent-player peak is only one measurement. It does not reveal total sales, total accounts, retention rates, spending patterns, or the exact number of active players on every day after the peak. But it remains a useful sign of scale. Reaching 578,562 simultaneous players means Path of Exile 2 has already had the infrastructure, interest, and visibility needed to pull an enormous number of people into the game at once.

That scale can help an online action RPG in several ways. It supports a lively economy and social environment, gives players more reasons to return for major updates, and increases the number of build ideas, guides, discussions, and community-created resources surrounding the game. For a title designed to be supported over years, the size and enthusiasm of the initial audience can be as important as a single launch-week sales headline.

The December 11 1.0 release will test a different part of the equation. The question will no longer be whether players are interested enough to pay for early entry; Path of Exile 2 has already provided a very strong answer to that. Instead, attention will shift toward how many newcomers arrive when the game costs nothing to try, how smoothly the servers and onboarding experience handle that interest, and how successfully Grinding Gear Games converts early attention into a durable long-term community.

Why the free-to-play shift could broaden the audience

Removing an upfront purchase requirement can change the audience for a game dramatically. Players curious about Path of Exile 2 but reluctant to buy into an in-progress release will have a simpler way to sample it at 1.0. The shift may also bring back players who followed the early access period from a distance, along with action RPG fans looking for a new seasonal or long-term game to add to their rotation.

There is no guarantee that a free-to-play launch automatically produces a proportionally larger peak than an early access debut. Competition for players' time is intense, and Path of Exile 2 is entering a genre filled with established games and devoted communities. The game will need to make a clear first impression on newcomers while continuing to satisfy the players who helped sustain it throughout early access.

However, the existing numbers suggest that Grinding Gear Games will not be launching into that challenge without momentum. The studio has already cultivated a major player base before its official release, and the free-to-play transition can expand the potential audience beyond those who were prepared to pay early.

A personal endorsement from Douse

Douse's praise does not appear to be limited to professional observation. He said he plays Path of Exile 2 "every other evening," with World of Warcraft taking up the remainder of his gaming time. That detail gives his comments the tone of an active player's recommendation rather than a distant industry judgment.

It also highlights how crowded the RPG landscape is. Even devoted players often divide their time among huge, constantly updated games. A game that can earn a regular place alongside a long-running MMO such as World of Warcraft has cleared an important hurdle: it has given players a reason to come back repeatedly.

Path of Exile 2's full release will provide the clearest indication yet of how broad that appeal can become. By December 11, the game will move beyond the paid early access phase and invite everyone to see what Grinding Gear Games has been building. Based on its existing player peak and the enthusiasm surrounding its current form, the 1.0 launch has the potential to be one of the most closely watched action RPG events of the year.

For now, the central story is straightforward. Path of Exile 2 has already attracted hundreds of thousands of concurrent players before its free-to-play launch. Whether that success translates into an even larger 1.0 audience remains to be seen, but the game is heading into December with the kind of momentum most online RPGs would want at any stage of their lives.