Hot on the heels of Path of Exile Crucible, the latest chapter in the ongoing action RPG saga, the number of PoE players on Steam is nearly ten times higher than it was before Crucible’s release.
There’s a lot to love about Path of Exile Crucible; there are new Crystal Geodes, an overhaul of Atlas Trees, Rift Stones, Abyssal Depths, and more. However, you don’t need to take it from me; the current number of players in the game speaks for itself.
On April 7th, when Crucible was released for PC, Path of Exile’s Steam stats increased tenfold (or nine and a half times) from 23,324 as of 9:00am PT / 12:00pm EST / 5: 00 pm PDT / 6:00 pm EST until 211637 when Crucible launches. While the hype has died down somewhat, the stat stands at 96,189 at the time of writing, four times April’s benchmark peak.
The game also set a new record for concurrent players, eclipsing its original stat of 50,000 with an impressive 321,180 simultaneous. Like I said, even after the hype died down, the stats are still up from the original high of 46,189, not bad.
Path of Exile has struggled to compete with Diablo for years; after all, Blizzard’s conflict saga is the father of the ARPG genre. With Diablo 4’s release date fast approaching and beta testing over, Grinding Gear has precisely timed Crucible’s release. This eases the Diablo 4 post-beta weekend itch and represents the new life PoE needs.
The abandonment of the Diablo 4 beta hit us hard, didn’t it? I can understand that, but Grinding Gear also knocked it out of the park with the Crucible, so its success is the perfect mix of great timing and awesome new content.
If you’ve been inspired to dive into the crucible, we’ve got a list of all the Path of Exile Crucible gems coming with the PoE 3.21 patch so you can familiarize yourself with all the new systems. If you’ve tried Crucible before, we’ve also got a list of the best games like Diablo to keep you busy, as well as a roundup of the best free PC games if you’re looking for something new.
Source : PC Gamesn
