When Path of Exile 2 launched in Early Entry final yr, followers of the action-RPG collection had been assured that work would nonetheless proceed on the primary sport, which was resulting from have its 3.26 replace go stay final yr. Months later, the studio behind each video games—Grinding Gear—explains why that didn’t occur and offers a short inside have a look at why concurrently juggling growth on two live-service video games is such a headache.
“After we launched PoE 2 we promised we may proceed to launch PoE 1 expansions, and we do intend to maintain that promise but it surely’s actually been loads more durable to ship on than what we anticipated,” sport director Jonathan Rogers mentioned in a brand new group replace revealed on YouTube. It’s partly a response to the ongoing meltdown over on the subreddit for the unique sport as gamers anticipate information of latest content material whereas assuming the worst, with some joking that PoE is now a useless sport.
Within the video, Rogers tries to stipulate how the timing for delivery PoE 1‘s subsequent league, a contemporary reboot of its world, simply saved getting torpedoed by PoE 2‘s Early Entry launch, regardless of the workforce’s finest intentions and planning. The most important roadblock was the quantity of labor the sequel’s finish sport wanted going into the vacation season and past, and the will to repair what was damaged earlier than going again to a sport that was already working.
First, the workforce didn’t wish to ship PoE 1‘s replace the identical time PoE 2 was coming into Early Entry. Then, PoE 2 was delayed by a number of weeks on the similar time builders for PoE 1 had been pulled off the sport to assist get the sequel out. After that had been all the issues with the very profitable however nonetheless buggy Early Entry launch, and issues solely snowballed from there.
“How may I justify taking a number of the most skilled builders we’ve off PoE 2 when it’s on hearth?” he mentioned. Whereas the workforce had beforehand hoped to get PoE 1‘s replace out by February, they ultimately realized they wanted to cease “fooling ourselves” that PoE 2 would get to the right place in time for the previous sport’s subsequent replace to exit.
“It means we are able to’t actually work on PoE 1 [version] 3.26 till PoE 2 [version] 0.1.2 has shipped,” Rogers advised followers. “And if I’m being trustworthy, it in all probability means we have to assist that for a few weeks after that as properly.” He added that he’s “actually sorry” about how issues ended up and says it was a mistake to take builders off the replace for the previous sport and assume they might nonetheless make their dates. Principally, PoE 1 gamers might want to sit tight for not less than a pair months extra at this level.
Regardless of the surprising delays, Grinding Gear Video games nonetheless plans to stay to its multi-game method to growth. Rogers mentioned it would simply take time to determine the easiest way to try this. Whether or not folks nonetheless enjoying the primary Path of Exile will present endurance and style whereas ready for that to shake out is one other query completely. Thus far not less than, the reply seems to be no.
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