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Before Path of Exile 2 opened Early Access on December 6, 2024, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) announced that it had reached one million redemptions. Game director Jonathan Rogers said the support was far beyond what the studio expected and warned that launch-weekend queues were possible.
What did the developers say about the launch?
Hours before the servers went live, the official Path of Exile account announced: “We’ve just reached 1 million Early Access redemptions. The support you have all shown for Path of Exile 2 Early Access is far beyond anything we could have ever predicted. However we want to be upfront with you all and let you know there may very well be queues over the weekend.” GameSpot reproduced the December 6, 2024 announcement.
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Rogers also said, “We never expected things to go this big during [early access].” He warned that launch-weekend queues were likely. GGG had ordered more cloud capacity as download numbers rose, but Rogers was unsure how the backend services would handle the influx. Queues were a stated risk; that warning does not mean every player encountered one.
What did the one-million figure count?
The December 6 figure was one million Early Access redemptions before the game opened—not one million people playing at the same time. In a December 11 follow-up, GameSpot reported that GGG had confirmed more than one million Early Access keys sold across PC and consoles. That access total and a simultaneous-player peak measure different things.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe same follow-up reported a Steam peak of more than 570,000 concurrent players shortly after release. That number refers to players online at once on Steam, not the total number of people with access across platforms. The key and redemption figures are access counts; the Steam figure is platform-specific concurrency. GameSpot’s December 11 report covers both figures.
How did the launch affect player support?
The December 11 follow-up also described an “enormous” volume of support tickets, slower responses, and problems processing email. Those were support-service pressures reported after launch, not another measure of how many players were online.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was Path of Exile 2 Early Access?
Steam lists December 6, 2024 as the Early Access release date and identifies Grinding Gear Games as both developer and publisher. The listing says the Early Access version is incomplete and may change. GGG said Early Access would let the team gather community feedback on balance, the in-game economy, and the overall game ahead of the full release. Path of Exile 2’s Steam listing provides the product and Early Access details.
How to read the launch numbers
| Figure | What it measures | When and scope |
|---|---|---|
| 1 million redemptions | Early Access redemptions, as announced by GGG | Before servers opened on December 6, 2024; reported by GameSpot |
| More than 1 million keys sold | Early Access keys sold, as confirmed by GGG | Reported December 11, 2024; across PC and consoles |
| More than 570,000 concurrent players | Players online at the same time on Steam | Peak shortly after the December 6 release; reported December 11, 2024 |
These are launch-era figures, not a measure of current activity. In particular, the cross-platform key total should not be compared directly with Steam’s concurrent-player peak: one describes access, while the other captures simultaneous play on one platform.
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