It feels like there’s been an ARPG renaissance over the past couple of years. 2023 marked the return of the OG dungeon crawler with Diablo 4, then 2024 saw the triumphant arrival of Path of Exile 2. Last Epoch, however, was primed to take its place at the top, with over 264,000 players diving in when it launched back in February of last year. Now, that number is barely breaking 2,500, with its last big event taking place in October and Season 2 set for April. As a result, some claim that the game is “dead,” but game director Judd ‘Moxjet200’ Cobbler assures us otherwise.
Last Epoch launched at the perfect time. Diablo 4 was still struggling to find its feet during the first half of 2024, and Path of Exile 2’s early access was still pretty far off. Capitalizing on a bloodthirsty market that was desperate for a new adventure, Eleventh Hour’s sprawling RPG surged to the top of Steam, accruing an impressive 264,708 concurrents at its peak.
But things have been pretty slow post-release, with Season 1 coming and going, and the last major event – Imperial Uprising – taking place in October. While the devs have been working towards Season 2, Mephisto’s return kickstarted an exciting new chapter for Diablo 4 which, as my Vessel of Hatred review states, “surpasses the base game in every way.”
Since September 2024, Last Epoch has somewhat flatlined, maintaining a steady player count of between 2,000 and 4,000. Coming into 2025, that number has slowly decreased, clocking in at just 1,436 players at the time of writing – nothing to smirk at for an indie game, for sure, but nowhere close to its peak.
A forum post on the game’s official website reads “this game is dead,” with complaints about about a lack of content, poor balancing, and developers “not wanting to hear players.” The original post, dated in September, has a series of back-and-forth responses, but on Thursday January 9, Moxjet200 puts the issue to bed.
“While we are hard at work on creating content and addressing player feedback we of course do see our concurrent player numbers [go] down, but you will find in the near future that the game is absolutely far from dead,” they write.
“We’re working diligently and faster than ever. If you look at our patch notes for major patch releases you’ll see that they’re very extensive. 1.2, or Season 2, will be no different, and very significant. We look forward to seeing you in game!”
The ‘dead game’ allegation is one we see thrown around all the time, but given Last Epoch is an indie-level game developed primarily by fans and Redditors, it’s no surprise that content isn’t churned out at the same rate as triple-A titles like Diablo. When Season 2 drops in April there’s bound to be an uptick, and hopefully it’s worth the wait.
If you’re still plowing your way through Eterra, we have a rundown of the best Last Epoch builds to help you slay the hordes in style. Alternatively, check out our guide to all the best multiplayer games if you’re looking for something new.
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