Path of Exile co-director Chris Wilson has left Grinding Gear Games

Recent document filings show Chris Wilson silently exited Grinding Gear Games, the studio co-founded in 2006.

According to the New Zealand Companies Office, Wilson “ceased” his role as managing director on January 21, 2025. Grinding Gear has not announced his departure on its website or on social media. However, several Path of Exile players have noticed his absence in the forums, and asked of his whereabouts in recent months.

Wilson co-directed the original Path of Exile with Mark Roberts, but did not join Roberts in directing Path of Exile II. He was a key public figure for marketing the first game, and during GDC 2019, he discussed how the studio developed the game with long-term player retention in mind.

Grinding Gear released an Early Access version of Path of Exile II in December for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S ahead of a full release planned for May. Originally, the developer was working on it as a new storyline that could be played separate from the first Path of Exile, but it later ballooned into its own game.

On PC, the sequel opened to over 578,000 players, more than double the first game’s most recent peak of 229,337 players. In January, Grinding Gear revealed it was pausing development on a new update for the original Path of Exile until after the sequel’s 1.0 release.

Game Developer has reached out to Grinding Gear about Wilson’s departure, and will update when a response is given.

Game Developer and Game Developers Conference are sibling organizations under Informa.

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