(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)
But Wilson also recognizes that despite Path of Exile's popularity, the studio can't stand toe to toe with Blizzard. "Look, Path of Exile is successful and is making good money, but it's not making Blizzard money at all," Wilson says. "The first week of Diablo 3 sales probably made more money than our company will ever make, I suspect. A lot of people have a lot of fun with Diablo 3 regardless of what the hardcore fans and Path of Exile fans happen to think of it POE currency trade ."
That disparity in the cultural influence of Diablo is something that Path of Exile can benefit from, Wilson says. "[Diablo 4 is] a retail game from what they've indicated, and we're a free game. They're also going to be spending a lot of money marketing their game, which is great and will be good for the genre. And that means that when people have enjoyed playing [Diablo 4], they can also enjoy playing us because it costs them nothing to get into it. And people will certainly be talking about both games."
There's even potential for a healthy kind of balance for players that want to play both Diablo 4 and Path of Exile, Wilson suggests. Because Path of Exile is structured around temporary Challenge Leagues that remix the core game every few months, there's a kind of natural tide of players jumping in during the start of a league and waning over time. "Path of Exile is kind of designed around playing heavily at the start of the league, and then gradually going to play other games," Wilson says. "We're not in communication with Blizzard about their season start times, but if both companies were smart, they would stagger it so the season start times work well for both groups of players."
"Every Path of Exile player is probably going to buy Diablo 4 and enjoy it. I strongly believe that and that's amazing. It's going to be good for the genre. And, likewise, I would like a lot of Diablo 4 players to try Path of Exile. If both games are good, I think it's a win for everyone."
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By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You'll 'cross paths' with the Dragonborn in the Skyrim board game
Earlier this year we learned Skyrim was coming to yet another platform: tabletops. The Skyrim board game was announced back in February, and today crowdfunding for the 1-4 player board game has finally opened on Kickstarter-alternative Gamefound. Gosh, I hope it gets fully funded.
Whoops, it's already been fully funded. In less than 30 minutes it reached its £100,000 goal, then quickly doubled it, and is currently on the brink of quadrupling it. I guess that's not really a surprise. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim The Adventure Game is projected to ship in August of 2022 for backers, and a retail version is planned as well.
We learned a bit more about the board game today, too. Polygon reports players will choose between six different characters, each representing a different race from The Elder Scrolls: Nord or Imperial (human), Altmer or Dunmer (elves), Orsimer (orc), and Khajiit (cat person). Two campaigns, each with three chapters, are formed from the game's 600 cards, and continuity is established between sessions so player choices and events in one game may have an impact on the next cheap Path of exile currency .
