Grinding Gear Games changes Path of Exile II product during sale period

2026-06-05T03:28:14Z

2606:4D80:1301:3EAC:6116:5355:8475:691A: added for fairness

{{IncidentCargo
|Company=Grinding Gear Games
|StartDate=29 May 2026
|EndDate=
|Status=Active
|ProductLine=Path of Exile II
|Product=Path of Exile II Path Early Access Supporter Pack (Special)
|ArticleType=Product
|Type=
|Description=Grinding Gear Games reduced the price of the "Path of Exile II: Early Access Supporter Pack" on Steam by 50% as part of a sale — but also halved the amount of the included contents, resulting in customers paying regular price dressed up as a "discount".
}}

'''Path of Exile II: Early Access Supporter Pack''' was changed during a 2026 [[Steam]] sale by its base value being reduced and then advertised as a discount while abusing the [[Steam]] sale system, resulting in misleading customers.

==Background==
''Path of Exile II'' (colloquially known as ''PoE 2'') is an action role-playing game (ARPG) developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. It entered early access on 6 December 2024 and is scheduled for full release sometime in 2026. The early access version costs $29.99, but will be switching to a {{Wplink|freemium}} model upon leaving early access.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Path of Exile 2 on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2694490/Path_of_Exile_2/ |website=[[Steam]] |date= |access-date=2 Jun 2026 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2026-0603-1245-16/https://store.steampowered.com:443/app/2694490/Path_of_Exile_2/ |archive-date=3 Jun 2026 |quote='''Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?''' “Once the game is out of Early Access, Path of Exile 2 will be free-to-play.”}}</ref>

==Incident==
[[File:PoE2 screenshot of Steam sale 2026.png|thumb|400px|Screenshot of the "discount" sale starting 29 May 2026.]]
On 29 May 2026, both the ''Path of Exile II'' and the Early Access Supporter Pack were advertised "On Sale, 50% off!", with the former accompanied by a Free-to-Play weekend. A 50% discount was showcased, however the DLC offered ('''"Path of Exile II: Early Access Supporter Pack (Special)'''") was ''not'' the same product that had been previously offered at the original price ('''"Path of Exile II: Early Access Supporter Pack"'''). The special version was in fact half the value, effectively resulting in a 0% discount.

The original Steam advertised price of NZ$51.39 (US$29.99) included:

*Path of Exile 2 Early Access Key
*'''300''' Points (premium currency)

At the time of the -50% "sale", the price was reduced to NZ$25.69 (US$14.99) but the underlying product had changed to:

*Path of Exile 2 Early Access Key
*'''150''' Points (premium currency), introduced specifically for this sale

The -50% is calculated on the reference pricing of the original product, misleading customers into believing they are receiving a discount when, in fact, the contents of the product has been diminished and they are paying regular rate. This is obviously pretending that the actual game key has a value of zero. The original 300 Points product itself is no longer available for purchase during the "sale" period via Steam, though it is still present on the Path of Exile website <ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Buy Packs |url=https://pathofexile2.com/get-access |website=Path of Exile 2 |date= |access-date=2 Jun 2026 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2026-0603-1231-55/https://pathofexile2.com:443/get-access |archive-date=3 Jun 2026}}</ref>. The 50% saving is further reiterated on the official Path of Exile II website <ref>{{Cite web |title=Play Path of Exile 2 for Free on May 29 - June 1 PDT |url=https://pathofexile2.com/freeweekend |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2026-0603-1515-52/https://pathofexile2.com:443/freeweekend |archive-date=2026-06-03}}</ref> and Steam annoucement<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-05-25 |title=Return of the Ancients: Free Weekend & 50% Off Early Access Supporter Pack |url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/2694490/announcements/detail/676247378514150011 |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2026-0603-1541-09/https://steamcommunity.com:443/games/2694490/announcements/detail/676247378514150011 |archive-date=2026-06-03}}</ref>.

===Grinding Gear Games' response===
As of June 3, 2026 while further news items have been published on the Steam page, the issue has not been publicly acknowledged by Grinding Gear Games.

==Consumer response==

User reaction is mixed,<ref>{{Cite web |author=ProffE |title=This isn't a 50% discount, it's SCAM! |url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/2694490/discussions/0/654855914503055973/ |website=[[Steam]] |date=30 May 2026 |access-date=2 Jun 2026 |url-status=live
|archive-url=
|archive-date=
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=IDKFA |title=Is it true this isn't "really" 50% off? |url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/2694490/discussions/0/654855914503008474/ |website=[[Steam]] |date=29 May 2026 |access-date=2 Jun 2026 |url-status=live
|archive-url=
|archive-date=
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=herbesdeprovence |title=Steam Community :: herbesdeprovence :: Review for Path of Exile 2 |url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/herbesdeprovence/recommended/2694490 |website=[[Steam]] |date=29 May 2026 |access-date=2 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260603031656/https://steamcommunity.com/id/herbesdeprovence/recommended/2694490 |archive-date=3 Jun 2026}}</ref> with long-time players of the original ''Path of Exile'' defending it as "the currency has always been $1 spent = 10 Points", with critics countering that the premium points currency is not the issue ''per se'' — a prospective customer looking at the Steam store page is given a very obvious impression that they are saving money (50% discount), when in reality they are paying full price (ignoring the actual game key). Some consumers have come to the conclusion this is a bit of a whiner post and not really a scam, seeing as your still getting the game for 15 less dollars, and still getting 15 dollars of in-game currency, which some choose to see as a free bonus. It comes to a matter of perspective, which varies among consumers.

This controversy could have been avoided by simply adding another bundle to the Steam page:

*Path of Exile 2 Early Access Key + 300 Point Supporter Pack - NZ$51.39 (US$29.99)
*Path of Exile 2 Early Access Key + 150 Point Supporter Pack - NZ$25.69 (US$14.99)

Doing so however, would mean that the publisher would not reap the benefit of posting it as a "sale", which it clearly is not. It is therefore apparent that Grinding Gear Games intentionally and knowingly bait-and-switched the base product and abused their Steam publisher tools to push a false 50% discount in order to drive sales ahead of going Free-to-Play upon leaving Early Access.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Grinding Gear Games]]

Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Grinding Gear Games changes Path of Exile II product during sale period