Grinding Gear Games

Grinding Gear Games is a video game developer based in New Zealand, founded in 2006 by Chris Wilson and Jonathan Rogers as an independent company.

The company has produced two games, Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2. Path of Exile allowed players to pre-purchase in-game microtransactions before the launch date, raising over $245,000 in just six days.

The company started in New Lyn following the two founders studying computer science together at university.

In 2018, Tencent acquired the majority of the company, taking 86.67% of the company shares, although the remaining shares were then sold to Tencent in 2024.

Chris Wilson was nominated for The New Zealand Herald’s Business Leader of the Year in 2013.

In 2025, founder Jonathan Rogers funded a private school with a STEM focus as part of a collaboration with Tristan O’Hanlon.