- Game
- Path of Exile 2 (version 1.0, Full Release)
- Release date
- December 11, 2026 (PST)
- Release time
- Not announced
- Platforms
- PC (standalone client, Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
- Price
- Free-to-play from December 11; optional Full Release Supporter Packs from $60 to $480
- Developer and publisher
- Grinding Gear Games
- Source
- Grinding Gear Games (ExileCon post, full release page, Steam post, November 6, 2026)
The big reveal was a second launch class. GGG showed the Duelist back in August, but its "Become the Darkness" teaser from October 29 turned out to be the Shadow, and both are in at launch. GGG announced the date and the free-to-play switch on August 25, the day it revealed the Duelist at Gamescom Opening Night Live. The keynote covered Path of Exile 1 too: its Covens of Umbra expansion, with a new challenge league and endgame changes, is free on November 13 (PST), per GGG's ExileCon post.
When does Path of Exile 2 1.0 come out?
Path of Exile 2 leaves early access and launches its 1.0 Full Release on December 11, 2026, with GGG giving the date in Pacific time in its ExileCon 2026 announcement. There's no launch hour yet. For comparison, early access opened at 11am PST on December 6, 2024, per GGG's early access FAQ, but that's not a 1.0 time.
GGG's registration FAQ names Steam, Epic, PlayStation and Xbox players as eligible for the launch rewards, and PCGamesN reports you can play through Steam or GGG's standalone launcher on PC. The game has been Steam Deck Verified since September.
Is Path of Exile 2 free to play at 1.0?
Yes. The game "launches as a free-to-play game on December 11," GGG says on its full release page. As of November 7 the $30 Early Access Supporter Pack is still on sale, but GGG said on October 23 that the early access packs will leave the store "forever" in a few weeks.
They're being replaced by five Full Release Supporter Packs, priced on GGG's store page as follows. Each includes a Path of Exile 2 key, points and cosmetics.
| Full Release Supporter Pack | Price (US) | Points | Physical extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archon of Rebirth | $60 | 600 | None |
| Archon of Ash | $100 | 1,000 | None |
| Archon of Destruction | $160 | 1,600 | The Saviour T-shirt |
| Archon of Divinity | $240 | 2,400 | T-shirt and hoodie |
| Archon of Corruption | $480 | 4,800 | Adds a 26cm light-up Hooded One statue |
Separately, everyone who signs up at pathofexile2.com/register by December 11 gets free cosmetic codes by email after launch, and GGG notes that buying early access doesn't grant them automatically.
Do early access characters carry over to 1.0?
They won't be deleted, but they don't move into the new leagues either. GGG's early access FAQ says characters from old leagues "just go to a league called Early Access (so they will never be in Standard)," and that "after launch the 'Early Access' characters will still exist." GGG hasn't published a 1.0 FAQ yet, so that 2024 wording is the latest official word.
What's new in Path of Exile 2 1.0?
Two classes, the last two acts, an army-building league and a long list of reworks, per GGG's full release page and Steam announcement.
The Shadow
A dagger and trap class built around Stealth: monsters can't see you until you're close, and attacking from the shadows powers up your dagger skills. Traps set while in Stealth trigger automatically as you strike and explode in the order you threw them, and GGG says each one interacts with at least three others. PC Gamer and PCGamesN report eight trap types and a Stealth that resets when you get a kill. The Shadow launches with two Ascendancies, the returning Assassin and the new Infiltrator, whom GGG describes as a master thief.
The Duelist
Swords and Stances. Ready Stance empowers sword skills; stunning an enemy shifts you into Sand Stance and parrying into Blood Stance, which makes enemies bleed. His Ascendancies at 1.0 are the Master-at-Arms and the Knight. PCGamesN reports the Knight gets a Squire companion you can equip, War Banners and a Mounted Charge.
Acts 5 and 6
The campaign is finished: a return to Oriath to end the Twilight Order and the Beast, with 24 areas, 18 new bosses and more than 20 new Champion Rare encounters. GGG's Act 5 and 6 trailer shows the city.
How does the Conquerors of Wraeclast league work?
It puts an army on top of your character. During the campaign you recruit troops at more than 70 new points of interest and fight over 20 missions. In the endgame you build a stronghold for one of three factions, each with its own troops and more than 20 buildings and upgrades, and follow a new storyline about the Sanguar bloodline and the Blood Lord. Castle treasuries drop a crafting material that swaps unwanted modifiers for random fractured ones, and up to three commanders can take your troops and Waystones to clear Atlas maps for you.
Once you finish that storyline, your whole faction fights other players' factions over more than 100 castles across the league. Holding one gives more item rarity, access to special maps with rewarding modifiers and a launching point on the Atlas. PC Gamer names the factions as the Karui, Ezomyte and Marraketh; GGG's own screenshot above shows a Karui-held castle.
What else changes at 1.0?
GGG lists more than 40 new unique items and over 70 reworked ones, new skills for classes that lacked them (the Warrior and the Witch, per the Steam post), a Support Gem rebalance and a Passive Skill Tree rework that moves every Jewel Socket into the clusters. Class reworks include a spellcasting demon minion for the Infernalist and a Corrupted Blood change for the Blood Mage that makes affected enemies take double damage.
Some endgame details so far come only from press coverage of the keynote. Both PC Gamer and PCGamesN report the Atlas passive tree is cut to about 70 nodes, down from the more than 300 GGG lists for the current version. PC Gamer adds over 25 new endgame maps with the new campaign bosses and a new pinnacle boss.
What we don't know yet
- The launch hour on December 11, and whether pre-loading opens beforehand.
- A Mac version: IGDB lists one, but GGG's announcements name only PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
- The new pinnacle boss's name, and the full 1.0 patch notes.
- What day two adds. ExileCon's November 7 PST (November 8 NZDT) stream has developer talks, gameplay showcases and race finals.
