Grinding Gear Games

Grinding Gear Games is a video game developer headquartered in New Zealand. The studio creates and publishes online multiplayer games, with its flagship title being Path of Exile, a free-to-play action role‑playing game. Path of Exile is distributed primarily through personal computers and has been made available on additional platforms over time. The company focuses on delivering a persistent online world that receives regular content updates, expansions, and seasonal leagues. Its core business revolves around maintaining live service operations and supporting a global player community.

The firm operates as an independent, privately owned studio, having been founded in 2006 by a group of New Zealand‑based developers. Its distinguishing attributes include specialization in the action‑RPG genre, a commitment to a free‑to‑play monetisation model supported by cosmetic microtransactions, and a reputation for frequent, community‑driven content releases. In August 2014 the company’s online infrastructure was impacted by a distributed denial‑of‑service attack that disrupted connectivity for Path of Exile and other gaming services, an incident that was investigated alongside a broader series of DDoS events affecting platforms such as PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Battle.net. This episode highlighted the studio’s reliance on robust server and network capabilities to sustain its live‑service offerings. The studio has released several major expansions for Path of Exile, each introducing new acts, skills, and gameplay mechanics.