Chris Wilson Departs Grinding Gear Games: A New Chapter for Direction of Exile
By Image courtesy of Grinding Gear Games.
Recent company filings reveal that Chris Wilson has quietly stepped away from Grinding Gear Games, the studio he 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 publicly acknowledged his exit on its website or social media. However, many Path of Exile players have noted his absence in the forums, and have inquired about his current status over recent months.
Wilson co-directed the original Path of Exile alongside Mark Roberts but did not join Roberts in directing Path of Exile II. He was a significant public figure in promoting the initial game, and during GDC 2019, he discussed how the studio designed the game with long-term player engagement in mind.
Grinding Gear launched an Early Access version of Path of Exile II in December for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in advance of a full release scheduled for May. Initially, the developer was working on it as a new storyline intended to be separate from the original Path of Exile, but it eventually expanded into its own standalone game.
On PC, the sequel debuted to over 578,000 players, more than double the previous game’s peak of 229,337 players. In January, Grinding Gear announced it was pausing development on a recent update for the original Path of Exile until after the sequel’s 1.0 launch.
Game Developer has contacted Grinding Gear regarding Wilson’s departure and will update when a response is provided.
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About the Author
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Hailing from Kansas City, MO, Justin Carter has contributed to various websites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writings can also be found at io9 on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him how much gum he’s had, as the answer might be more than he’s willing to acknowledge.