During the Great Britpop Wars of the 1990s someone might have asked you whether you preferred Oasis or Blur. The correct answer was "Pulp, actually." Likewise, if someone asks whether you like Path of Exile 2 or Diablo 4, the correct answer is Grim Dawn, dammit.
Crate Entertainment's mud-and-blood action RPG was thought dead when its third expansion, Fangs of Asterkarn, was announced out of the blue in 2023. As Crate's latest developer blog explains, the expansion was announced earlier in development than the previous two as a way of reminding people there was still life in the old girl yet. That's one reason why it's not out yet. The other is that it's bloody ginormous.
"To put things in perspective," writes designer Kamil 'Zantai' Marczewski, "by our current estimations, Fangs of Asterkarn will cover approximately 3.55sq. km, which makes it roughly 110% as big as Ashes of Malmouth. Kurnhold, the de-facto capital of the Kurn and the new quest hub, spans 4 zones, compared to the 1.5 that the Covenant of the Three took up in Forgotten Gods."
For the sake of comparison, Forgotten Worlds took up only 2.5sq. km, and even the rather large Ashes of Malmouth was a slightly smaller 3.2sq. km. "Scattered across Asterkarn are 54 new bosses," Marczewski goes on, "including 8 new Nemesis encounters. Mechanically, these bosses will feature some of the most advanced skill tech the game has had yet as we continue to push this aging engine to its absolute limits."
With "over 380 new Unique items and 120 Monster Infrequents", not counting Awakened Epic items or Ascended common drops, "Fangs of Asterkarn is Grim Dawn's largest expansion, filled with the most unique assets, animations, and new creatures than we have ever done before."
Which, again, suggests we shouldn't expect to see it release too soon. Apparently "a late Fall/Winter 2025 release is within the realm of possibility" but it's just as likely that'll be adjusted to "Spring 2026, or even early Summer if we need more time to polish." Hey, whenever it's ready is good for us. It's not like we don't have plenty of other things to play this year. When's Titan Quest 2 coming out, anyway?
(Titan Quest 2 is Suede in the Britpop comparison.)
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