Grinding Gear Games
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 November 2006 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Video game development |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.grindinggear.com/ |
Grinding Gear Games is a video game developer and the largest video game company in New Zealand.[1] Founded in 2006, the Auckland company has produced two games, Path of Exile, and its sequel, Path of Exile 2. Having started as an independent developer, the company was majority-acquired by Chinese technology company Tencent in 2018, after Tencent had published Path of Exile in China in 2017.
In 2025, Grinding Gear Games had 240 staff in New Zealand and paid almost NZ$100 million in dividends to Tencent that year.[citation needed (10 June 2026)]
Consumer-impact summary
Grinding Gear Games broke promises of providing existing customers with free equivalent paid features in their sequel, and broke that promise.
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Grinding Gear Games category.
Promised stash tabs not provided (2024)
On several streams and on their FAQ prior to the release of Path of Exile 2, the sequel to their widely popular Path of Exile 1, they stated that all micro-transactions will eventually be made available to those who already bought the equivalent stash tabs in PoE1.[2] However, now that similar stash tabs have been released, those who owned the PoE1 versions did not receive their PoE2 counterpart.[3][4] Fragment stash tab and Ultimatum stash tab in PoE1 (https://www.pathofexile.com/shop/category/stash-tabs) covers the entirety of the Breach stash tab in PoE2. (https://www.poe2wiki.net/wiki/Stash#Breach_Stash_Tab)
Will my Path of Exile 1 microtransactions work in Early Access?
Yes, but not all microtransactions are available to use yet. Many recent MTXs and all stash tabs will be initially available, but due to a massive amount of microtransactions in Path of Exile 1, we’re still in the process of adding them all to Path of Exile 2, so many of them will be marked as ‘unavailable’ in your cosmetics tab. During Early Access we will be working through the backlog and making them all available.
How will my stash tabs from Path of Exile 1 work in Path of Exile 2?
Stash tab purchases made in Path of Exile 1 will be available in Path of Exile 2, where relevant. For example, a special league-related stash tab might not be available in Path of Exile 2 as that content does not exist there. We will be updating applicable stash tabs in Path of Exile 2, and stash tabs like the currency stash tab will hold different items to what it holds in Path of Exile 1.Stash tabs become remove-only when logged into a different platform where you don't own them.
Misleading game discount (2026)
Products
- Path of Exile
- Path of Exile II
See also
References
- ↑ Keall, Chris (2024-03-06). "Profit nearly halves at NZ's largest video game firm, Grinding Gear Games". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 2026-06-14. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
- ↑ "Path of Exile 2 - Early access FAQ". Path of Exile. 2024-11-21. Archived from the original on 2026-06-11. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "So guilds and guild stash tabs will no longer be carried over to POE 2?". Reddit. 2026-06-04. Archived from the original on 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "What stash tabs will hold catalysts and "oils" in PoE 2?". Path of Exile. 2024-11-23. Archived from the original on 2026-06-11. Retrieved 2026-06-04.