This new ARPG is Steam’s third most-played game—and it’s not even out yet

Grinding Gear Games has finally launched Path of Exile 2, though with half the Acts and classes the full game is planned to have. Even so, the game has almost tripled the original title’s peak concurrent player count on Steam, and is currently third on the entire platform.

The only games above it are Valve’s own Dota 2 and CS2, both of which are longstanding free-to-play esports titles, whereas Path of Exile 2 is currently in a closed beta of sorts, asking players to dish out at least $30 to buy into and play it at least six months ahead of the full free-to-play release. As of Dec. 9, it is the third most-played game on Steam by concurrent player numbers, with over 578,000 players clocking in during peak hours, according to Steam Charts. That is a whopping 350,000 more than its predecessor peaked at way back when, or almost triple the amount, which is incredible considering the original Path of Exile has more than a decade of free-to-play live service to its name.

Over on its Steam store page, Path of Exile 2 has an 82 percent positive review score, or a “Very Positive” overall rating, with many players calling it the best ARPG ever released.

While that might be true, the title is, as is the case with any early access release, flawed at the moment at least in regards to its technical side, as well as some design choices such as incredibly difficult bosses who are preventing players from progressing in the game. PoE 2 has drawn heavy inspiration from the Soulslike titles developed by FromSoftware and others, though such mechanics and design philosophy are strangers to the ARPG formula, with many fans of the genre finding it hard to settle in.

Even so, the game is undoubtedly both popular and successful. Its early access period is supposed to last for at least six months, with the developers planning to add in six more classes, 12 Ascendancies, and three whole Acts to the title over the course of the closed beta.