The meteoric rise of Path of Exile 2, which once smashed past 500,000 concurrent players on Steam, has hit a sobering reality check. Despite the arrival of a fresh league, the peak concurrent player count had dwindled to just the 10,000 mark by the 10th.

Riding the coattails of its predecessor’s fame, Path of Exile 2 hit an impressive 460,000 concurrent players on launch day, climbing even further to 570,000 the following day. While the shift in style, combined with improved visuals and that signature grim atmosphere, initially drew praise, the honeymoon phase was short-lived as the game's cracks began to show.

These issues only accelerated when the 'Prelude to the Hunt' league kicked off in April. Players were quick to point out that the massive map sizes, coupled with a lack of traversal options, turned the leveling process into a tedious slog. To make matters worse, a broken altar-style shop disrupted the economy, leading to a wave of criticism. From a healthy 230,000 concurrent players at the start of the 'Prelude to the Hunt' league, the numbers have plummeted, barely scraping past 10,000 by July 10th.

The user sentiment hasn't recovered, either. While the recent 30-day window shows a 'Mixed' rating (1,312 reviews, 50% positive), the feedback since the league launch is 'Mostly Negative' (20,724 reviews, 37% positive). The community is vocal about unstable servers, a lack of endgame depth, and questionable build variety. With another league looming in August, the developers face a massive challenge to turn this ship around.

Elsewhere on the Steam charts, Dead by Daylight slipped to 6th place despite announcing a collaboration with The Walking Dead. Meanwhile, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 all climbed one spot each.

In the daily peak concurrent players Top 20, Naraka: Bladepoint surged to 4th place, hitting 220,022 players—an increase of roughly 60,000 from the previous day—on the second day of its new season. Delta Force also enjoyed a seasonal boost, hitting its own peak of 179,755 players.