The newest Path of Exile expansion is being delayed specifically so that it doesn't contend with Cyberpunk 2077, which was itself delayed yesterday, and is now targeting a release on December 10th. Path of Exile, as a free to play fantasy MMORPG, doesn't have much in common with CD Projekt Red's open world titan, other than this unfortunate timing coincidence.
It's been a pretty rough time for Cyberpunk fans. The delay was an upsetting development, especially thanks to CD Projekt Red's repeated promises that the game wouldn't be delayed anymore. The massive open world title has been at the top of a lot of players' lists for years now, and this development hit a lot of people hard. Some took the indefensible route of taking their anger out on the hardworking developers who weren't even responsible for the delay, sending horrible death threats to these innocents. This atrocious behavior prompted strong words from industry greats like Cory Barlog, who were quick to come to CD Projekt Red's defense.
Grinding Gear Games, developer of Path of Exile, has had a much stranger response to the news of Cyberpunk 2077's delay. As announced on the game's website, the newest update to Path of Exile, version 3.13, will be delayed until January. The developer left no room for ambiguity as to the reason for the delay. The blog post mentions Cyberpunk 2077's delay to December 10th, only a day before Path of Exile 3.13 was set to release. To quote the announcement directly, "We do not want to put our players in a position of having to choose between these two games." In order to avoid competing with Cyberpunk 2077, Grinding Gear Games will release version 3.13 in January, and leave December for CD Projekt Red's game. Assuming, of course, that it doesn't get delayed again.
Grinding Gear has promised that the scope of 3.13 will remain unchanged despite the delay. It's also promised at least one multi-week event during the holiday season, to keep dedicated fans satisfied until the newly delayed expansion. With the recent release of Path of Exile's major Heist expansion, fans already have plenty of content to tackle, but Grinding Gear clearly has no intention of leaving them out in the cold.
Of all the reasons to delay a release, an entirely unrelated title coming out at the same time is a very unconventional one. But it makes a certain amount of sense. Path of Exile is a successful game, with seven years of dedicated service under its belt, but it can't hold a candle to the fame of Cyberpunk 2077. The developers clearly have no interest in releasing an expansion to a host of empty servers. Plus, one has to assume that at least some of them are eager to try Cyberpunk 2077 themselves. Path of Exile fans are sure to be disappointed by this delay, but there are certainly some big things on the horizon worth looking forward to.
Source: Path of Exile