Path of Exile 2 has moved back into Steam's most-played top 100 just as Grinding Gear Games starts the final stretch toward Return of the Ancients. The action RPG sat at No. 99 in a Thursday 17:50 UTC reading of Steam's public most-played chart, up 83 places from last week's position.
The move gives Path of Exile 2 a visible return to the lower end of Steam's live chart before its next major early access update arrives on May 29. That timing does not make the update the sole reason players are logging in, but it does put the chart climb in a player-facing window: Grinding Gear is now explaining what changes when Return of the Ancients lands.
In the same Steam chart reading, Path of Exile 2 had 16,884 current players and a 17,102-player weekly peak. The comparable prior-day reading was 14,198 players, adding a short-term lift to the larger week-over-week rank jump.
Return of the Ancients gives lapsed players a date to watch
Grinding Gear's official Return of the Ancients FAQ says the update launches at 1 PM PDT on May 29 across the standalone PC client, Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. Existing characters remain playable in Standard Early Access leagues, while the new Runes of Aldur league starts with a fresh economy.
That fresh start is a big part of why Path of Exile updates can pull attention back before release day. The studio says Runes of Aldur has its own mechanics, content, rewards and bosses, with league challenges unlocking pieces of an exclusive Knight of Aldur armour set. Standard League players will also see Atlas progress and the Atlas Passive Tree reset because Return of the Ancients reworks the endgame map.
Grinding Gear is still feeding out smaller previews. A Steam post this week says the update includes campaign navigation changes, while another showcases Spirit Walker, a new Huntress Ascendancy coming with Return of the Ancients.
A lower-chart climb before a bigger test
Path of Exile 2's current Steam position sits in the lower top 100, below the long-running giants that dominate Valve's chart. The notable part is the direction of travel: a game outside last week's lower chart is back in view while its next league and endgame reset are close enough for players to plan around.
Last week's Steam most-played chart was led by familiar names and update-driven spikes elsewhere. Path of Exile 2's Thursday movement is smaller, but it is tied to a clear upcoming date, a fresh-economy league and a round of official feature previews.
There is also a store deadline attached to the same update cycle. Grinding Gear said in a May 14 Steam announcement that the current Last of the Druids Supporter Packs will leave the Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2 stores when Return of the Ancients launches on May 29 PDT.
The bigger test comes when the update is live. Path of Exile 2 has already turned its pre-launch information push into renewed visibility on Steam, with the game's next fresh league less than three weeks away.