The effect of the free trial announced on the 26th was remarkable. Path of Exile 2 climbed to the top of Steam’s global top-sellers list, fueled by its new season and a free-to-play push. The game smashed through the 300,000 concurrent players mark on day one and kept climbing, eventually peaking at 350,000.

Path of Exile 2 rolled out its new 'The Third Edict' content on August 30th. Alongside the update, the developers offered four days of free play, and the results were immediate: 330,000 concurrent players on launch day alone. The momentum continued over the weekend, hitting 353,657 players by September 1st—the second-highest peak since the game's inception. Considering the concurrent player average hovered around 10,000 before the update, this is a significant turnaround. Unsurprisingly, it currently sits at number one on Steam’s global top-sellers list.

'The Third Edict' adds the fourth act to the storyline. The journey takes players to the Namakanui archipelago, the ancestral home of the Karui, as they hunt for the ancient weapon—the titular 'Third Edict'. Players can explore eight islands and face off against a dozen new bosses and various monsters. The update also brings much-needed quality-of-life changes, including a sprint function for faster movement and an asynchronous trading post to improve item trading.

While the influx of content and those improvements have been welcomed, the update hasn't been without its share of criticism. Despite the free access, some players pointed out ongoing server stability and optimization issues, and there is also feedback comparing the difficulty and control schemes unfavorably to the original title. Still, with the official launch slated for later this year, it remains to be seen how much of this will be improved.

Elsewhere on the Steam global charts, No Man's Sky has surged to third place following its latest update. NBA 2K26, now in early access, has landed at fourth, though it is currently recording a 'Mixed' user rating. Meanwhile, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has slipped down to sixth place.