Even Musk Plays 'Path of Exile 2'... A Hit Before Official Release

Ranked No.1 in Weekly Global Sales on Steam
Nearly 580,000 Users Recorded

Kakao Games, responsible for domestic service, is showing signs of success with 'Path of Exile (POE) 2'. Even before its official release, it has already ranked at the top of the popularity charts during early access (preview play).

According to Steam, the world's largest global game distribution platform, POE 2 topped the weekly global sales chart immediately after its release on the 7th of this month. Considering that the sales ranking for the first week of December is based on data from the 3rd to the 10th, it achieved the highest rank with only four days of data. However, in the second week (10th to 17th), it dropped one rank to second place. The peak number of concurrent users was 578,569 on the 8th, and the daily player count has consistently remained between 200,000 and 500,000.

POE 2 was developed by New Zealand game company Grinding Gear Games. It can be played on PC and consoles, and during the early access period, the goal is to officially release the game within a year based on user feedback. The game had high expectations even before release, with strengths cited as its gameplay style emphasizing direct control, graphics, and an appropriate difficulty level that stimulates players.

The game has been criticized as a 'Diablo-like' due to its similarity to Blizzard's Diablo from the United States. However, among users, there are evaluations that its gameplay surpasses that of Diablo 4, the latest installment in the Diablo series. It also became a hot topic when Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and known to enjoy the Diablo series, revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he is playing POE 2.

POE 2 is estimated to have accumulated over 3 million viewers for related broadcasts on domestic streaming platforms.

Changes in the domestic game market landscape are also anticipated. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency's '2023 Korea Game White Paper,' the platform with the largest share in the domestic game market is mobile, accounting for over 60%. Since the current focus on mobile games is seen as a limiting factor for the emergence of new titles based on gameplay or other platforms, there are expectations that the success of POE 2 will lead to expansion in PC or console markets.

Kakao Games' performance trends are also drawing attention. A portion of POE 2's domestic sales will be recorded as operating revenue. The company's consolidated operating profit for the third quarter was 5.7 billion KRW, down 80.1% compared to the same period last year. There are forecasts that performance improvements will be possible in the future depending on POE 2's success. Kakao Games is also conducting events to boost popularity, such as free usage through PC bangs collaborating with POE 2.

A Kakao Games representative explained, "Based on the know-how accumulated over five years of servicing the previous title domestically, we will continue to provide user-friendly services that allow domestic users easy access to the game, such as official Korean language support, dedicated server setup, and build guides."