Eleventh Hour Games announced that Last Epoch will sell at least one new playable class as paid DLC alongside a major expansion planned for release. The move directly contradicts years of public statements that all post-launch gameplay content would be free.
The studio repeated this promise multiple times throughout development and early access. As recently as four months ago, developers told the community that cosmetic sales and base game purchases would fund all future content. That model has now officially failed.
Eleventh Hour Games admitted in a forum post that none of Last Epoch‘s three post-launch seasons generated a profit. Even Season 2, which the studio described as having “very successful reception and high turnout,” lost money due to development costs and long production times.
The cosmetics store never gained traction. Players report that few cosmetics released after launch, and those that did were low quality compared to competitors like Path of Exile and Diablo IV. For much of the game’s life, offline players couldn’t access the store at all. The feature only became available in offline mode a few months ago.
Last Epoch launched into 1.0 in January 2024 after years in early access. The game had strong initial sales and peaked around 150,000 to 265,000 concurrent players on Steam. But the numbers tell a different story than the launch hype suggested.
The campaign remains unfinished. The game shipped with plans for 12 story acts but currently only has 10. Players estimate the full campaign might not arrive until 2027 at the current development pace. Numerous bugs persist across skills and systems. Earlier classes feel less polished than newer ones. Some unique items still lack proper 3D models.
Krafton acquired Eleventh Hour Games in mid-2024 for a reported $96 million. The South Korean publisher behind PUBG now fully owns the studio and IP. After the acquisition, the company confirmed Last Epoch was operating in the red and that the deal essentially saved the project from shutdown.
The upcoming expansion will be free for existing owners and included in the base price for new buyers. That base price may increase to reflect the bundled expansion content. The new class, however, will be sold separately as optional DLC.
The numbers don’t lie
Eleventh Hour Games now employs around 100 people according to LinkedIn data. That staff size requires consistent revenue that neither cosmetics nor declining seasonal player counts can provide. The studio framed the decision as binary: introduce paid gameplay content or dramatically scale back development.
The ARPG space is more crowded than ever. Diablo IV runs premium battle passes and a lavish cosmetics store. Path of Exile 2 is in active development while Path of Exile 1 continues its free-to-play league model. Grim Dawn just announced another expansion. Last Epoch is trying to compete in this market while finishing a campaign it shipped without completing.
Steam reviews for Last Epoch dropped sharply after the paid class announcement. Many negative reviews cite the broken promise specifically. Players who recommended the game based on its “buy once, play forever” model now feel misled.
