December Path Of Exile Expansion Delayed To January To Avoid Conflict With Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077's most recent and final(?) delay is having an effect on scheduling for gamers and game companies both. With CD Projekt Red's magnum opus now scheduled for a Dec. 10 release date, one prominent developer has decided to adjust its schedule in accordance.

Grinding Gear Games had planned on Dec. 11 as the launch date for its next Path of Exile expansion, currently known only by its numerical designation of 3.13. However, with Cyberpunk 2077 set to release just a day before (for now), GGG's Chris Wilson has made the decision to move the expansion's launch into January. He explained his reasoning in a forum post today, saying that the decision was made so as not to "put our players in a position of having to choose between these two games."

Despite the extra time, the scope of the 3.13 expansion won't be changed, a topic that Wilson addressed last week. The expansion will still be finished on schedule in December, and in the intervening time, the developers will work on the 3.14 expansion. To satisfy players who won't be sacrificing their lives to Cyberpunk in December, Grinding Gear Games will still have "at least one multi-week event" during the month.

I'll have to admit, when I first saw this news tweeted out, I thought it was a joke or The Onion-style parody. I'm excited for Cyberpunk's release, too (though not as much as some), but it feels like the extreme measures people are going through to fit it into their lives is a bit extreme. It's not the first and won't be the last "big game" to consume your life for a little while, and the notion of an actual game company changing its schedule at the last minute to avoid it seems a bit excessive.