Grinding Gear Games is confident that the upcoming Path of Exile 2 has the potential to compete with Blizzard’s very own Diablo 4.
In an interview at ExileCon in New Zealand, the studio’s founder Chris Wilson described the sequel as a "next-generation" action RPG. And for him, it is capable of going toe-to-toe with Diablo 4 despite the latter having a much larger development budget.
"Yeah," Wilson said when asked if Path of Exile 2 can compete with Diablo 4. "Path of Exile 2 is one of the next-generation of action role-playing games, and we feel it's well-positioned there."
Wilson also acknowledged the fact that Blizzard is one of the biggest – and even most well-funded – studios out there. This alone is enough to help Diablo 4 shine in all development aspects. However, Wilson argued that Path of Exile 2 also has what it takes to compete, especially thanks to its legacy and how it is connected to the first game.
"Any company with a lot of money can make really nice graphics and so on. They have amazing graphics as well and a great storyline and so on," Wilson said. "But what we have here [with Path of Exile 2] is bringing across six or seven years of content including all the balance and ecosystem. If you make a new game, maybe it's bad? You don't know until you play it. Whereas we know Path of Exile is good, and there are a lot of people out there who like that."
Of course, Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 are not really going to square off anytime soon. After all, both of these titles are still far from getting released. In fact, neither Blizzard nor Grinding Gear Games has committed to an official release date (although rumor has it that Diablo 4 might launch around 2021.)
As for Path of Exile 2, Wilson gave a small hint at the release window, particularly when he mentioned that the title could release at a timeline when both PS5 and the next Xbox are in the marketplace. Both next-generation consoles are due to launch in Holiday 2020, and the game is said to be available for these new devices.
