Today's news that Tencent had completed the purchase of controlling shares in Path of Exile's Grinding Gear Games came straight out of left field. We managed to fire off a few questions to GGG's Chris Wilson to learn more about the investment and what it means for the future of Path of Exile and Grinding Gear.
MMORPG: How long has the plan to bring Tencent on board been in the works?
Chris Wilson: We have been talking with them for over a year.
MMORPG: Had GGG been looking for investors prior to the move to sell shares to Tencent?
Chris Wilson: We entertained all discussion with potential investors for many years, but hadn't found the right match until Tencent talked to us.
MMORPG: What does this mean for you and your team?
Chris Wilson: For everyone else in the company, nothing at all. It's business as usual! For me, as CEO, I have some additional reporting requirements. Our goal with the deal is that development and operations of the game are not affected even slightly by the change in share ownership.
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MMORPG: Are there any plans to expand outside of New Zealand?
Chris Wilson: No, we plan to continue to have just a New Zealand office and no presence in other countries.
MMORPG: How involved will Tencent be in day-to-day operations of the company?
Chris Wilson: They have financial oversight but are not involved in day-to-day operations. They would like us to continue to run the company independently.
MMORPG: What impact will this have on the development of Path of Exile?
Chris Wilson: It'll likely have no direct impact on development, other than us being able to experiment with some projects that may have been deemed too risky before.
MMORPG: Will you and GGG start looking to develop other titles alongside PoE?
Chris Wilson: We have a really big lineup of Path of Exile content planned that spreads into 2020, so we want to first and foremost deliver that to the high-quality standard that our players are used to. We don't have plans for other titles at this stage.
In Other Path of Exile News...
Of course, today's news is the most pressing, but that doesn't mean that the PoE team was quiet in the week before. There's a lot in the works as the release date for the Incursion League is fast approaching. As a result, lots of new information is coming out of New Zealand including...
- Incursion League FAQ: This is a great read that answers most of the pressing questions you might have about how the League functions, what players can expect and much more.
- Big Changes for Seismic Trap and Siphoning Trap: This is the continuing effort that GGG is making to bring trapping to new heights for veteran players and to make it a starter-friendly spec for new players.
- Skill Revamp Part 5 - This time, the overhaul to Freezing Pulse, Infernal Blow, Incinerate, Ground Slam, and Vaal Righteous Fire are shown off in all their spruced up glory.
- Development Manifesto - Bestiary League: With the Incursion League coming in the next several weeks, a lot of players have questions about the Bestiary League and what its place is in the future of Path of Exile. "While the Bestiary league took a lot of effort to make, and we spent a lot of time improving the league after its release, we have decided not to retain any element of the league in the core game for now."
- 3D Art for Existing and Upcoming Unique Items
Last, but certainly not least, is a triple treat of videos from ZiggyD:
