In a reddit post, CEO of Grinding Gear Games Chris Wilson posted a lengthy response to feedback from the players regarding recent updates and the state of Path of Exile, he also addressed future plans for the game and even tackled the work/life balance in the industry and his views on it. The developers regularly run Q&A's and also regular feedback sessions for fans to give their feedback on the state of the game so things can be addressed, the recent Q&A posted on their forums has given the chance for players to vent their frustrations and ask some pertinent but difficult questions to the developers.

Chris stated that 'Synthesis' was a lot more work then expected and and despite a lot of improvements since its launch he accepts that it could have been done better both in how it was developed and it's quality. The 3.7.0 update will focus on a league that is full of repeatable full, a huge combat revamp is in progress that will change the games play-ability fundamentally for the better. Whilst this development is going on the team is also working on the 4.0.0 mega expansion, this will future proof the game against other Action RPGs that are coming to market and not focusing on 4.0.0 is how Chris sees how the company may even die, that's how critical he feels it is!

The post also addresses what is known as "development crunch." Essentially, when it gets nearer to implementing releases some developers really push their staff in to working longer hours and to get patches and expansions out on time. Chris Wilson simply states that "I will not run this company that way." He states there are optional paid overtime for staff near league releases but he encourages and feels his staff have a good work/life balance so they can continue to work hard and enjoy what they do, producing great content.

Chris finally adds to his post:

I am very sorry about this. One of our key values is our relationship with our community. We feel that our internal emphasis on longer term improvements to Path of Exile has caused some damage to that relationship in the short term. We will make sure that we find a good balance between addressing immediate concerns and making the long-term improvements the game needs.

Later this week, we'll post our first set of answers to the questions from the Q&A. I will make sure that it includes all the hot topics such as Synthesis, trade, console improvements, races, etc.

You can keep an eye on any responses in their Q&A thread here .