Path of Exile co-creator "would have scoffed at something like Baldur's Gate 3" 10 years ago, but now he knows why live service isn't necessarily "the future"

Path of Exile co-creator used to think 'live service was entirely upside, in all cases', but 10 years of experience and games like Baldur's Gate 3 have shown him another way

It's easy for us, sitting in our chairs of critique and our long, weary experience with the live service wringer, to decry the model as something inherently toxic for the industry. And yet we participate in a society—I mean, er—still play them. And while monetisation's gone far off the reservation in recent years, leaving us craving good singleplayer, one-and-done games, it's hard to forget that there was a time where live service really seemed …

Path of Exile co-creator "would have scoffed at something like Baldur's Gate 3" 10 years ago, but now he knows why live service isn't necessarily "the future"

Grinding Gear Games co-founder Chris Wilson once believed in the live-service video game model wholeheartedly, and this conviction undoubtedly helped him be online RPG Path of Exile's fearless leader until he officially left Grinding Gear in 2025. Now, Wilson is a free bird, and he's free to scrutinize the monetization pathway he once thought might redefine video games. Wilson explains this in a new video on his YouTube channel, in response to a…