I interviewed PoE's Director on Path of Exile 2 and the biggest issues in gaming

[@LegendaryDrops]

Hope everyone enjoyed the interview. Legit, I can't thank you guys enough, without your support I wouldn't have the ability to do this sort of thing and it's absurd that I even got the chance to. I want to do more interviews, I want to learn more, and I want more of our questions answered. Can't wait for PoE2.

[@anvec6145]

Love the tangible excitement in the interview, particularly that it was ALL ABOUT the game and making it GOOD, nothing about gender or bs. Even more excited for this game after what he said about the Bosses and meaningful upgrades, as a player I like to wander around and rerun areas to build up strength for a big battle- often lingering in areas just for fun to collect gear.

[@kobarsos82]

"You are gonna make me cry". I really felt that. Same here. Finally a genius designer dev who understands what it's all about. Make a good game first. All the other stuff is secondary. I mean damn the truth in that is so insane. Why do other creators/designers/directors rarely seem to understand this???

[@MFM7925]

Legendary interview

[@justanormalguy4885]

PoE2 is a wake up call

[@kevinmann2154]

Great interview, wish d4 had great minds like GGG instead of here is some xtra xp guys if u login this weekend.

[@mirogoat]

That ancient feeling of joy to see gamers creating games for gamers.

[@sonoftheredfox]

You said so well what so many people have been feeling for years watching the corpos and activist devs run rampant for too long.

[@Dynioglowy1986]

Thats how gaming was before 2000

[@zlongmore8866]

For sure this game is going to be amazing. You can tell just by the interview.

[@ovis2375]

well said.

[@ovis2375]

well said.

[@marksutherlandjr.2121]

Johnathan has been SO GRACIOUS with his time. I've been seeing him LITERALLY on every channel I frequent.

[@brilobox2]

He’s probably appreciating the time off.

[@Meshga]

First round of promo goin hard right now.

[@Woupsme]

And he sounds just as excited every time he explains anything from the game.

[@marcinchreptowicz6843]

I think it's a case of them being prepared to finish work already, enjoy the few days of break to do interviews

[@sfall616]

Best advertisement

[@highhamiiton]

Seeing how much love and respect for D2 that this studio has makes it even funnier that Rod Fergusson tried to throw shade in his tweet.

[@LordMuzhy]

lol I know

[@MrRafagigapr]

it basically shows that modern blizzard not only cannot copy diablo 2 they cannot improve the formula at all , while GGG can understand what makes it good and improve upon it , just the fact D4 has a character creator means that they learned nothing from David Brevik

[@sorarockss93]

@@MrRafagigapr Can you explain the character creator thing a bit? What do you mean? Why is it bad?

[@nawedm]

@@MrRafagigapr Its not they can't improve it, they dont want to do it. The investors run companies like Blizzard nowadays. The priority is making the most amount of money, not to make the best game. They can't compete with this

[@TheMasterblah]

​@@sorarockss93 I think its just one of those divergences from the Diablo formula that wasn't necessary. It's kind of a waste of time when you're zoomed out 20 feet from your character decked out in armor and cosmetics anyway

[@berkertugrul9055]

that fly is a d4 super fan

[@devilcookie9924]

LMAO

[@DylanOakley-v3k]

😭😭😭

[@ractorstudios]

LOL 100%

[@1990erre]

Flies love to eat shit!

[@Esque123]

Drone sent by Blizzard to interrupt the interview and/or spy on GGG

[@GhazzyTV]

Very nice interview, thank you!

[@ZycheCiorre]

Your interview was also very good, so much good info this week. 🙏

[@sadmarinersfan8935]

It’s great to see the completely different perspectives from people

[@joelhodoborgas]

Yo!

[@TheRyvershadow]

Haven't commented on your videos before, even if they've all been top notch, but I felt the need to do so with this one. You are clearly in touch with your audience and know what we find important. This interview is similar to what everyone used to see from the games journalism days of yor, and frankly, you knocked it out of the park. I am so hyped to get into the game from this interview, and to watch whatever you choose to cover in your next video. Great job, keep creating!

[@LegendaryDrops]

Thanks man, I appreciate it and I'm glad you found a home here.

[@fluvia9054]

Timestamps: 1:08 Reasoning behind creating POE1 4:30 Success and longevity of POE 10:19 Reasoning behind creating POE2 15:45 What makes POE true ARPG 18:30 Engaging aspects of POE2 21:20 Fly battle 27:33 Balance changes 33:55 Endgame content 37:00 Player engagement 42:20 Ethics & Monetization 45:43 Microtransactions 50:50 Target audience 54:28 Storytelling 1:00:45 Implementing new ideas 1:03:10 Development direction

[@itspartan117]

people who gonna ase "Fly battle" timestamp before watching Video will think it inGame Boss or something xD

[@treee6400]

​@@itspartan117 He beat the fly tho and it came back for phase 2 wydm lol

[@Oryyyt]

That fly is the true endgame boss 😂

[@YuYuYuna_]

Fly boss in PoE 2 for the memes now please GGG make it happen.

[@1DJRikkiBee]

Thank you.

[@Traff92]

You asked him about player loyalty around the 42min mark, I haven't played the last 3 or 4 leagues that POE has released, but I have bought both of the supporter packs each league just because I know POE has made something good. I've gotten close to 10k hours in POE1 so I'm totally happy to buy the supporter packs to keep them going even if I don't have as much time to play anymore.

[@qqwqqw5671]

respect

[@draakisback]

I'm the same. Though I've played every league since closed beta for at least one character. I always buy a supporter pack because I know GGG will use the money properly and because I've gotten so much play time out of this game. I got support to give me the time played for my account and it was 317d 16h 43m and 18s total. I've put some 2-3 thousand dollars into the game and I don't regret it at all.

[@EdwinSherwood]

Yep games like these where you can tell they care about the value I’m more then Happy to support. I wish there was more ways to give fromsoft money because I always feel like I got my moneys worth and I want more, same with these guys

[@Pateramalina]

how it is possible to game 10k h one game... ? If you play 8h each day its still full 41 full months xD Im not thinking about working, you do anything else ? Go outside touch some grass or whatever ?

[@Homiloko2]

@@Pateramalina You're right that 10k hours is crazy.. At least the game came out 11 years ago, and possibly a big chunk of this was being afk in your base which is quite common to do when taking breaks between maps and etc. I played twice (one league each, many years apart from each other) and only clocked 400 hrs total lol

[@johnarnebirkeland]

A game made by gamers for gamers, what a revolutionary concept in this day and age of large companies making games by the numbers.

[@Wintercide]

"Have you tried force feeding the nasty gamers moralisms?" - Investors, probably.

[@icariusinius8239]

i was owner of a game server and i did seriously play on it legitimately reason why people don't do it as much is because it takes a ton of time. i think its important at least on a big team that the game director plays and knows the game enough to make decisions that are anti frustration cause eventually they will run into the same issues that players run into people not playing their own game is how they get "out of touch" experience. (GGG is a mixed bag on that) that being said, as you have more insight about the inner workings, an outside view is just as important. i have massive respect for teams like GGG or Re-Logic for supporting their games for as long as they had without losing passion. i was hoping one day i could finish my own (non mod) project but as a solo dev its very draining.

[@sunbark4927]

You know he's a gamer because of the flies

[@jlunartstudio]

I've seen many different interviews with Jonathan, and he often goes on these rambles about systems you'd expect to see repeated in each one. But he has so much information to share and is extremely passionate about this game, no doubt.

[@Psilonauto]

I love how relaxed and confident he is in all of them. Like he knows he has something special here and he knows everything about it to the smallest detail. Gives me confidence POE 2 will be an absolute banger.

[@michaelsmith2406]

yea, sometimes interview rambles are such a slog of not interesting info.. but Jonathan's tangents are just full of so much passion, I was all in through out!

[@danieln6700]

always good listening to actually passionate and interested ppl in the thing making. instead of some person whos basiclly a marketting or pr person to talk and answer questions and dont really know the product but just study notes.

[@Gharon]

I can't even begin to describe how hyped i am for PoE2 after that livestream. It's always incredible to see how enthusiastic Jonathan is when talking about PoE, in most interviews he's almost tripping over his words because he's talking so fast with his passion practically overflowing. He's just genuinely excited about his game and you can feel that.

[@eweyone]

Exactly, it feels like he fully enjoys his product, these emotions don’t lie.

[@stanislavkimov2779]

So rare to have big games actually made by enthusiasts. This is how games should be. This should be valued.

[@brilobox2]

@@stanislavkimov2779there’s a reason for that. Creatives are usually really bad at accumulating and managing resources to fuel their creativity. Corpos on the other hand are really good at accumulating and managing resources but often have zero creativity. It often requires respectful symbiosis between the two to make massively ambitious projects come together, but corpos are often highly disrespectful of creatives, particularly their actually useful opinions and insights. The only other way it happens is if a creative is also a shrewd corpo who’s in charge, which is very rare.

[@stanislavkimov2779]

@@brilobox2 I agree, both are needed

[@Relhio]

If you didn't play PoE or didn't enjoy it, you're going to have the same experience with the 2nd one, no matter how passionate he is. He's passionate about a very niche genre of game and the vast majority of gamers, and almost all viewers of this channel won't like.

[@crimsonheart1949]

About the player loyalty talk. I was someone who first played PoE around 2014 before Awakening dropped. I was not in a good financial situation to pay for games, nor did I have access to an online payment method. I played the game for thousands of hours on and off, and now in 2024, both of these issues in my life have been fixed, and as thanks to GGG I bought 150 USD worth of supporter packs as thanks tonthem and to also support a great company. So it really is a thing among many of us. Thank you, GGG, and here is to many years of success.

[@Goestohollywood-l8x]

❤

[@KokotoHero-N3]

As a dev myself, these insights were invaluable, thanks for making this a thing :)

[@diogenesstudent5585]

Copy a popular game and be the only option after the original studio destroys itself? Ok. Make GTA 6 or elder scrolls 6 then. Name it something different. Proffit.

[@SanDan3rdDan]

Like being a fly on the wall...

[@ladnil]

The boss fight frustration level to world map information quality connection is so wild to think about.

[@Oryyyt]

​​@@diogenesstudent5585Riot has been doing the copy and make better thing for over a decade now and they're rich. lol Good artists borrow, great artists STEAL. We're seeing a surgence of "scroll-like" games lately but goodluck topping GTA6 without the budget and the stacked manpower that R* has.

[@spbalance]

@diogenesstudent5585 Bit of a dishonest take tbh. PoE got popular very quickly parallel to Diablo 3 and way before Blizz crashed and before people realized and came to terms with the headless chickens that studio had become. They did copy and expand on D2, but so have many, many others (including Blizzard I guess) both before and after GGG, no one with even close to this amount of success.

[@xTazerTx]

Alternate titile: Cult leader's details explanation to how to capture the souls of innocent bystander and turn them into the most fervent believer

[@michaelvaldez4857]

Hahahahahahahahah

[@stanley909]

And where do I sign for said cult? 🤔 They better have cookies.

[@BARDI77]

wait a minute cults are suposed to take your money and give you nothing, they are giving you everything without taking your money, thats not how the force works

[@savageforte1004]

I can't dispute this

[@facE055]

You say this as a joke but the poe cult is definitely the most extreme one I've ever seen in gaming. Also the most toxic.

[@Binteh]

Now THIS is the type of person we want working on our games. Someone with love, passion and respect for the game that they make and their audience. BRAVO!!

[@brucepreston3927]

Hopefully if games like this continue to be really successful then we will see a shift in the industry...It seems people are starting to reject alot of the BS, so hopefully things will turn around one day

[@gibb53]

Damn bro, feels like your channel came out of nowhere recently, and you scored a 1 on 1 interview with Jonathan! That's huge, so happy for you, love your content

[@sgtkwan]

I believe his channel only really started picking up close to BG3 release where he was making content to hype the game up

[@Juttargoe]

Asmon. Is the reason. Along w his hardworking/great videos. Concord / assassins creed videos took him to next level

[@darianstarfrog]

Well, he is an ozzie, in Australia, and Jonathon is a kiwi, from NZ..we are neighbours😂

[@themandodad9041]

​@@darianstarfrogas an Aussie, he is Aussie?

[@celwenileran2135]

No way! A developer who knows his audience?! A developer that actually understands fundamentals of the game he makes?! A developer that makes a game and isn't afraid to implement changes that will anger players but be healthier for the game in future?! A developer who doesn't sell out his game for to more casual audience?!

[@Runefrag]

If they understood the fundamentals of their game, they would have adequate servers whenever a new league launched (which they haven't had since like 2016), optimized their game (also no), reworked how trading works to not be completely abysmal manual teeth-gritting garbage and not be so terrible at balancing by making changes around the top 0.01% of players.

[@hoodedy]

@@Runefraghave you not been apart of the last few league day ones? There has been no bad servers. If you have lag it’s mostly you

[@MJR_heyfunny]

​@@Runefragkind of confused on what you mean I've been playing like mad since open beta of the original game I'm currently clocking well into over 40,000 hours in the game and the game runs a million times better than it used to back in the day every once in a while they will make a change or implement a patch that causes the game to be a little bit unstable but usually it doesn't take long for them to fix it. I'll tell you this anytime I've had consistent problems playing the game it was directly related to My ISPs upstream packet loss due to horrible line noise causing an atrocious latency and eventually kicking me from the game probably every 5-10 minutes. Strangely enough as soon as I moved my connection was perfect and the game has yet to be anything but performing well. So I think especially if you are playing in a group the vast majority of time in the game I would definitely think to look into each party members connection to see if there are any stability problems because that will make the game run like crap faster than anything else.

[@Razgriz__1]

@@Runefrag Buddy you claim they've had shit servers since 2016, but these takes make it sound to me like you haven't even played since 2016.

[@Unknown-Soul26]

@@MJR_heyfunny40k hours is insane, holy shit. literally more than 4 and a half years of playing

[@ZwrP]

game devs should really listen to this interview, Jonathan drops a lot of gems here.

[@brilobox2]

Its mostly common sense, which a lot of devs and people in general seem to lose, especially when drawn into organizational and corporate thought spheres.

[@YukonSky77]

Good point, I think his commentary on "pillars" of an arpg is insightful. It's important to reflect during design and throughout the life cycle that of the foundational concepts are compromised or it can begin to affect the game as a whole.

[@tamim3319]

So proud to see how far LD has came! Excited to watch this interview and beyond excited to play PoE2!

[@MrRafagigapr]

tbh they interview loads of people , even small 25k subscriber channels

[@bxile730]

@@MrRafagigaprhes still making moves and growing… congrats to LD indeed

[@linemat7887]

@@MrRafagigapr small 25k subscriber channels are actually popular poe content creators

[@nikkosmit6985]

Anyone else still surprised he tried Poe literally 6 times and still Refused to follow a build guide? Then complained he can’t progress?

[@DBOed]

Jonathan should be Supreme Leader of all video games studios world wide. I started playing PoE in January 2024, and since then I've put 1500 hours in and spent $350 bucks on it. A few days ago, I bought the $460 version of the PoE 2 supporter pack for early access. Why you ask? 100% pure choice. These guys respect me as a player, and I can tell they just love making this game for the sake of the game and community. And I'm going to support that.

[@1LLJIJI]

based af

[@AgroPool525]

That fly needed a health bar 🤣

[@nastymclovin]

that fly was thinking Jonathan needed a health bar

[@Zemlja_je_ravna]

I felt like that fly when I fought Kitava for the first time

[@ericdavis4941]

That fly had a necro on standby precasting corpse explosion

[@Fraulein_Sausageball]

See, this is actual games journalism.

[@jesse2535]

this was the most fun poe 2 interview I've watched thus far.

[@henreader717]

Sick interview, thanks. Jonathan, Chris and Mark are a gaming industry blessing

[@christianlancaster8407]

More companies need to let you interview their leads because this made me buy the supporter pack. Love this.

[@Games-fj5tz]

"Five pillars of ARPG longevitiy..." 1. Random level generation 2. Secure online economy + full resets (season) + everything tradeable 3. Random item system (elements of chance) 4. Need action combat (few cooldowns) 5. Deep character customization (build variety) Very good questions! Loved the interview.

[@ethan007]

I watch almost all interviews for poe2 but this has to be the most informative and is the best one for me. Thanks for the effort

[@taylon5200]

Agreed. He really dove in with broad strokes on big ideas or issues and allowed thr man to direct the interview himself, with the kinds of answers that arent influenced to just sound good. Really let his ideals shine through as a dev. Loved every second.

[@Relhio]

He asked questions from the perspective of someone that played AAA games and Desnity 2 most of his life and now just realized that there's smaller companies that make actually good games... they're just questions from an outsider that doesn't even know what the game is about besides "I heard it's better than Diablo 4".

[@quipsilvervr]

Man, that guy's entire presence screams passion. Listening to him talk to you like a normal person and the authenticity of the conversation, such a good watch. PoE 2 is gonna be so damn good!

[@Metroiidd]

A game made by gamers for gamers. A rarity in 2024. Imagine if most game directors were like Jonathan and Mark.

[@brilobox2]

When corpos get control of the creatives, inevitably all the talent and passion is squeezed out or leaves.

[@evilkamatis542]

we now rarely see Blizzard devs entertain straight out interviews because they know there is nothing for their playerbase to ask about the game. GGG accepts interviews left and right and very confident on sharing things about the game makes players very confident about this game. THIS FREE GAME!!

[@brilobox2]

More like there’s a chance one of their disconnected devs will make a fool of themselves by not knowing something critical about the game when asked questions they didn’t prepare for.

[@ryanwidmer5311]

That fly represents the entire POE community who wants the new game now.

[@Psycorde]

Someone must've said "I want to be a fly on the wall at GGG when X happens", this is them now

[@LaughingSkull451]

21:40 It's Chris Wilson in fly form! He says he's very proud of you, Jonathan! :D

[@burgercronje5412]

Stay Legendary man and keep Dropping those awesome vids man. Love your take on gaming. POE2 is going to be a cultural phenomenon. Cannot wait.

[@stizzgaming4189]

All these interviews are so good. First time ever I’ve felt like not only am I stoked to play your game but like also, hey GGG let’s go for a beer n hang as friends. Amazing job to GGG and their mindset

[@Justme-jp8ih]

Man, Jonathan is great! I love that guy. Hes so enthusiastic and euphoric about what he talks and does. I'll gladly buy the supporter pack to support these devs. I usually never buy games, because I think games are too expensive for what they really are. Ironically the one time I do buy, is a f2p game, lol. But I saw how much love, effort and attention these devs paid. They 1000% deserve it.

[@Messypapa]

its so refreshing to hear this man talk. he says all the things we as an audience want to hear. that they make games based on what they like, that he as a manager promotes agency of team members to follow up on ideas they are passionate about, while still being firm picking what gets to go in the game to keep it cohesive.

[@adampopovich6238]

These devs are top notch. The amount of interviews and passion they have are unparalleled!!!

[@RealKarlReid]

“I wonder what game will be my first purchase in 2025” **Path of Exile 2 releases December 2024** “I wonder if I’ll buy a game in 2025?”

[@21Roofdog]

No need to buy games in 2025, just going to give ggg more money

[@NoxKlimmek]

@@21Roofdogespecially with todays gaming market there is no game to buy in 2025. i was hyped for mh wilds because im a fan since mh4u but the lack of optimization killed my pc..

[@Aetherpon]

silksong, surely. Maybe. Hopefully.

[@zzziiiR]

Just giving more money to GGG, got no time for other games 😃

[@ericdavis4941]

Monster hunter wilds will be my only purchase in 2025

[@migclass]

52:17 "At the end of the day, what we're doing is making a game that we enjoy. We're making a game that we think is cool. I think the danger really comes when you try to make a game for an audience that you're not apart of. That's where you start to make things that appeal to nobody." He absolutely nailed it. This is so obviously one of the biggest issues in gaming right now.

[@Xyzzy91]

Amazing interview! Thank you so much

[@kyliostyrson9493]

PoE is my favorite game, PoE 2 is going to blow people away.

[@MrRafagigapr]

i legit think there are tens of thousands that never tried poe 1 because they were waiting for poe 2 to come out

[@Dane_law-t]

I can't wait for all the "wow now I know why so many people praised this game so much" comments lol

[@MSDGAMEZ]

​@MrRafagigapr Me..... I played for a little bit but then I saw poe2 and decided to wait because it looks so good

[@vivoluos6541]

I always hated the gameplay of poe. Maybe hated is the wrong Word. It was not fun to me somehow. But the game Systems, trees, itemization was insane. Poe2 fixes the gameplay issue for me and im hyped

[@JohannLudwigEdel]

@vivoluos6541 did you ever make it to endgame and reached a point where you felt overpowered? For my friend this was the point were he finally got into poe after trying and failing to get him into the game 3 times.

[@johnolson8579]

Have never played POE, but based on the intro to the game on 11/21 I purchased the top tier ($480) supporter pack. Based on the care and love the developers show for their players and the game. Can’t wait for December 6

[@nathanwright8598]

This interview has lifted my spirit on the outlook of the gaming industry. It’s so refreshing to see there are still developers that understand and care enough about the player to avoid trends and focus on giving a great game.

[@sarentheadept]

Haven’t even touched PoE but I can already tell this is something I’m going to play by this devs passion

[@AquaMidget]

This guy has really good character. Genuinely is a good person assuming all the things he said was true, and there's really no reason to doubt those things either. When he was talking about being a game director, the way he said he operated was very indicative of being a good leader while also being very caring about his staff. Cool guy 👍

[@TalkativeTri]

Oh god now I need to listen to this before tonight. HUGE GRATZ DUDE!

[@FinalDragoon63]

Its so funny, I saw this and went "Oh nuggets, Tri is going to have to go over this before his interview".

[@dee_babs]

Waiting for your interview TT.

[@HustleHabit]

"I don't know if you found..." is one of those magical things in gaming. I'm glad GGG is bringing those kind of moments back.

[@pencilbender]

literally finding new channels because im looking for more interviews, awesome stuff bro!

[@BlueMoonFuzz]

Can’t wait to watch this a second time when the goblin king reacts to the vid.

[@ResandOuies]

goblin king?

[@dmitriykorolevich2208]

@@ResandOuies My guess would be Asmongold, but I might be off.

[@RetroCube]

Nurgle’s most faithful follower perhaps?

[@exia7777]

​@@ResandOuies Asmonfold

[@NoxKlimmek]

Goblin king is a title i link to thor, not to asmongold, so stinklord or so would be a better title for asmon

[@abyjohan200]

to be honest, it's exactly as Jonathan said, ive tried PoE years ago, its just didn't click back then, but after following them close for a past few months, i'm more than excited to play, i even encourage all my homies to try (especially we've been playing togethers for years) it kinda shapes our decision to buy/invested in a game or not, and so far we're so excited for PoE 2, and I hope there are many peeps out there that want to try it now! See y'all in EA!

[@cigaaaaaaa]

This is awesome! Thank you , LD.

[@Touchin-Grass]

Its crazy how much you blew up dude ! I remember watching your stuff in the 1st thousands.

[@Stefanish]

Very insightful video. Great questions, the best interview about poe2 I've seen so far

[@hpefidra]

What an amazing interview. Jonathan is such a delight to listen to, such a passionate guy for what he's doing. Also great questions!

[@fufu_slav]

Jonathan is so passionate about staying true to the format I cant help but smile thinking about what theyll do with a new platform like poe2 to build even more great content off of. At the same time a big pioneer in the genre that also f*cking loves games

[@Blisterdude123]

I crack up a little every time he gets so excitable he flat out forgets what he was originally talking about lmao Refreshing to see someone who both actually knows what they're talking about in respect to their project, and also their enthusiasm to share and talk about it.

[@HiddenStr3ngth]

The new Atlas system is so good. They can keep adding and saturating it with more and more things to find through exploration. More unique areas, bosses, biomes, all sorts of little hidden things that feel cool to find. Can just keep adding and sprinkle it into the world.

[@brilobox2]

@@Blisterdude123 its the engaged creative mind. Someone who is genuinely passionate about the thing they’re good at making.

[@Mathilde_Moksha_333]

Hey! I'm coming over from DM's reaction, looking forward to watching the entirety of this without the cuts now :D You rock!!

[@Almorema]

We can be so happy to have Jonathan and the whole GGG group. The gaming world needs more people like them

[@thomasdavis399]

I love listening to Jonathan speak about their philosophies. So many companies could learn from this. I am so excited to see PoE2 and hope GGG reaps the success they deserve.

[@kinomanssky]

Well Thank YOU! You’ve been doing really interesting videos for a while but especially these past few months. Cheers

[@EduHBa]

Man... Right from the start you can see that he knows what hes talking about and the passion... Thanks for this interview!

[@sevhoss]

Great interview. I loved seeing his perspective on making a game that players actually like.

[@MrStarguy]

Johnathan is an absolute treasure to this industry, we're beyond lucky to have him in this space. What an insightful breath of fresh air.

[@LordMuzhy]

Their approach to monetization is great, wish more of the industry had their mindset. Thank you for this interview, I’ve never played PoE but after watching gameplay of PoE 2 and this video I’ll be buying into early access!

[@Wildpneuma-pt8qf]

Great lessons for business in general. Make a product that you love rather than a product that you anticipate people wanting. Phenomenal interview

[@arnaualba]

LOVED this, I'm binging every POE2 piece of info I can find online. Such a fresh breath of air listening to Jonathan talking about the game in a more meta way. Amazing, congrats.

[@CombativeMedic]

This is the kind of passion I wanted to work with when I got out of school. Darn shame I don't see myself moving to New Zealand but best wishes to them all!

[@Corusame]

I'm sure New Zealand isn't the only place that has this kind of passion for games development. You always have the option of finding others who feel as strongly as you do and creating something special yourself. Many a classic game came from the most humble of origins.

[@RisitopLeVrai]

thanks for the vid, love these podcasts!

[@RageReaver187]

Great job with the interview, LD. I personally love such interviews. Seeing and hearing the passion pouring out of these people is so wholesome to listen to. These guys made a more than just worthy successor to Diablo, better than Blizzard could ever hope to do. And we have the best isometric ARPG in our hands now.

[@No_OneV]

GGG talks like gamers, because they are gamers. Blizzard talks like it's a shareholder meeting.

[@robertgemes9296]

They did, after all, invent Campfire Board Meetings.

[@taunttitan1714]

Yeah I'm 100% sold on Path Of Exile 2 after this interview/video Everything Johnathan said is what we us real Gamers are feeling

[@same-asit-ever-was]

The fact that they reference Diablo 2 as their reason/inspiration going forward speaks volumes for the Old guard and the pinnacle of the Diablo franchise series (ERGO Diablo 2). It's so refreshing to hear a gamer making a game for gamers.

[@xT1MOTHYx]

With every interview with Johnathan I watch it makes me feel good to give them my money, and not feel like I’m getting GOT! He doesn’t throw shade at others, he just wants to make something he would like to play. Great interview!

[@xdmyfriend4730]

I watched the whole interview already, you did such a good job! Jonathan is a gem and listening to him is always so interesting and you really got a lot of good info out of him. Thank you!

[@ShaddyzZz]

Nice interview! Interesting, some deeper questions regarding thought patterns through out development etc. Something I havent seen in other interviews GGG has made lately. Thank you for asking good questions. And thank you Jonathan and GGG for being awesome. You deserve all the success ❤

[@DEEPANSHUGulia88]

Loved the whole interview, This is how game studios ceo, directors, etc. should act and do meaning interviews rather than attacking their audience in interviews or talk other nonsense. Amazing guy. Loved hearing him talking I was able to feel his passion he had toward his game.

[@Sciber311]

That was such a great interview! I have watched all of the interviews, this one was the best in my mind.

[@bobbyQQ]

Huge props to GGG and to Jonathan for putting out content that respects the user. There is still hope in the gaming industry with guys like these around. So hyped for the future of POE

[@ericdavis4941]

Love the injection of joy with mercenary class. Style of the class changes the whole way i play the game vs other classes. I almost feel like in playing Contra with mercenary. Made me go ba k and load up contra on snes. The nostalgia was amazing

[@Madjiitensha]

Biggest aspect of making great game is, gamers making games for gamers vs. suits making money.

[@Stuphy1147]

This man is a Chad, absolutely refreshing to hear a dev talk with such a balance and clear passion for his work. I legit said "Amen" out loud to myself while listening to this on my way to work lol. Hearing people that understand what gamers want is so refreshing and I'm so excited to see what they've been cooking. Great interview!!!!

[@itsame_th2283]

Jonathan is such an observer, perfect for a lead developer. The game is in amazing hands

[@luisvidigal3995]

Dude, this has to be one of THE best interviews ever! Thank you so much! Makes us appreciate that much more POE2 knowing the people behind it actually know what they are doing and what fans want. Dec 6th will be a day for ages!

[@xlM3RCxl]

I am pausing the video to say thank you for realizing that ARPG combat needs to FEEL better. Always been one of my biggest issues and I am so pumped to play PoE 2!

[@kingscrub3386]

Man, it feels great being the target audience again. I'm like you and have tried PoE1 several times over the years and I've only ever made it to act 3, this game tho looks like it will feel way better to play and learn for a new player. I am super hyped for this game after the dud that D4 was, in my opinion, for the depth of mechanics and freedom to customize combat in ways that I'm excited to theory craft ideas out of the plethora of skills and gems. December 6th can't come fast enough!!!

[@knackandthoughts4150]

My respect for this guy and his team just got magnified tenfold when he said that one of the reasons why they changed the combat for PoE2 is because they were not only looking for feedback from the PoE playerbase but also from people outside the community. That's how you know you he's a real one.

[@GriefPB]

Great to see you got this interview. Your content has been exceptional, very much deserved

[@FinalDragoon63]

One thing that just really gets me to buy into the POE/POE2 hype is how the team at GGG is so crazy passionate not just about making their game but playing it. If you've ever been friends with someone going to culinary school, they're usually calling everyone over to taste test and they'll sit in the kitchen holding their breath hoping their friends love their food. Thats GGG, they're the friend making a great ARPG waiting with bated breath for the playerbase to load up PoE2 and enjoy themselves. This is their love language, and its so hard to not just excited with them for it.

[@hushhushgush]

Strong work; this was an exceptional interview. I just love listening to Jonathan answer these thoughtful questions. He's so bright and earnest. It's just amazing hearing his story and his perspective. You can tell he truly cares about the player experience. We are so lucky to have him.

[@cwehden]

GGG are the new Blizzard, we just haven't realized it yet.

[@ikashibimauler]

Blizzard North*

[@truedps8]

Hopefully not, I'd rather not watch them turn into garbage.

[@spbalance]

Yeah, been thinking this for a while. Not like 1:1 breast milk burglars, but in terms of what these guys might achieve the next 20 years. Hopefully, and either way, they remain grounded like now.

[@drought8616]

Why are you using Blizzard as an example of a good company? Don't mix nostalgia with facts. Maybe it was good in the past, but no matter how you look at it, they're just a bunch of greedy pieces of shit.

[@Zemlja_je_ravna]

There is more depth they are not discovering

[@ptv-7816]

The one word that comes to mind thinking about POE2 is Healthy. Healthy takes. Heathy approach, healthy discussion. What a breath of fresh air. Great interview

[@SainKail]

jonathan will be rich just by being humble and honest my g, and i will love that, soo nice to see devs that play the game, and are gamers too, and also, not pressured by ceo's or shareholders

[@smilewhenyourbleedin]

Thank you for this interview. I've seen 100 interviews with Jonathan and mark and its almost always just jumping into the game and whats new etc etc. I liked that you asked about how ggg and poe came about. Can tell Jonathan probably enjoyed the more personal question too rather than having someone just give them advice on what they think minions should do

[@MATTP545]

I love that he mentioned that bringing forward the POE 1 microtransactions into POE 2 was a no brainer decision instead of trying to milk the player base for all they have. It makes it an absolute no brainer decision for me to support the company with supporter packs that I probably wouldnt normally buy but I like supporting quality games from an extremely fair and talented developer

[@ReallySicName]

Thanks!

[@LegendaryDrops]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you

[@ReallySicName]

@@LegendaryDrops I didn't know I could type a reply. But yeah, great interview, keep it up!

[@fuzzylumpkins6034]

Had WoW learned from their past by the end of Wrath and dropped WoW2, WoW would have a very different present and future and far less memes and furries than it has. PoE was amazing but GGG realised and accepts it is not new player friendly and PoE2 not only addresses the issues, the devs have been progressive in appearing to currently be addressing the issues with dungeon crawlers endgame. I left PoE for a year and when I tried going back, realised it had grown far beyond my ability to return. I will be lining up for PoE2 with the millions of others. I cant wait for the loading queues and bug fixes. Because the end result will be a game we have wanted for a decade that we did know we wanted.

[@moogle1010]

You have earned this. Keep going and just keep being genuine. It's the currency of today and everyone is tired of being very obviously lied to. Wish you the best.

[@razerade]

I would love to see an interview with Rebb and Steve from DE

[@Eledthur]

He's so real, man. I wish every developer was like him. Speaking with such passion about the game they're making, and thinking of the ones who are going to play it. Thank you for making this interview happen. It was a blast to watch and listen to it all the way to the end.

[@merusalem]

I did not believe for a moment that the fly was an accident. It is a hint that we can get pets in POE2, the lowest level being a three foot long bloodsucking fly monster.