Path of Exile 2 is already one of the top 20 most played games in Steam's history even though it's in early access and all the servers have been on fire

A sorceress straining to cast spells in the dead of night during the Path of Exile 2 early access trailer — (Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

It's safe to say Path of Exile 2 has been a victim of its own success in its first day of early access, with throngs of gamers and PCG editors all trying to fit through the same digital door like the Three Stooges as the game's servers begged for mercy. But as pointed out by GamesRadar, that hasn't stopped PoE2 from being a runaway success already.

At the time of writing, PoE2 has 480,000 players ingame⁠—more than twice PoE1's peak of 230,000⁠—and that number is still growing. That puts PoE2 at #19 for all-time concurrents on Steam, just ahead of Fallout 4 and behind Capcom Arcade Stadium and Terraria. SteamDB even chimed in on Twitter to reveal that the amount of people checking in on PoE2 last night crashed the site.

What makes this all the more impressive to my eye are the huge factors that should be putting a damper on Path of Exile 2's success, at least for the moment. Yesterday saw much of the playerbase waiting in queues to play the game once servers went live, with Grinding Gear Games eventually allowing players to connect in batches. Also, this isn't even the full launch of the game! Though eventually intended to be free to play, the current buy-in is $30 for just a portion of PoE2.

But it definitely seems worth the fuss: PCG online editor Fraser Brown praised PoE2's blending of classico ARPG buildcrafting with more Souls-style precision and difficulty. People from all different areas of my life have expressed interest in the game too, which seems crazy for a hardcore live service ARPG. I'm more of a singleplayer guy these days, but it's sounding like I might have to make an exception for this one.

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.