Path of Exile 2 Release Date: 1.0 Is Free on December 11

Image: Grinding Gear Games, Steam store screenshot

Our call: free on the 11th, so do not rush an Early Access purchase

GGG's own wording is that the game "launches as a fully free-to-play action RPG on December 11 (PST)" (Steam, August 25). The Steam Deck Verified post of September 24 and the registration post of October 19 repeat it. That is 32 days from November 9 for anyone who owns nothing yet, and we would not pay for a key to wait it out.

There are two reasons to buy in now. You want to play before the 11th, and the Runes of Aldur and Forbidden Rites leagues are both set to run until 1.0 (Forbidden Rites FAQ, late August). Or you want the Early Access Supporter Packs, which GGG says will "leave the store forever in a few weeks" and be replaced by five new packs (Steam, October 22). Those packs include microtransactions usable in both Path of Exile games, Early Access keys and store points.

Players have been counting the days since the first announcement. In the r/PathOfExile2 thread posted that same day (August 25), user Zenithixv wrote (comment): "Time to book a long vacation in december". Another user said they were not done with the current league yet, and xarzue answered (comment): "Literally have 3 months man thats ample time." That was true in August. Now it is the 32-day gap that matters: if you still have a league unfinished, the clock counts for more than the key price.

What 1.0 adds, as GGG listed it on November 6

Source: Steam announcement, November 6. GGG's trailers for Acts 5 and 6, the Shadow and Conquerors of Wraeclast went up the same day with matching descriptions.

Diablo 5 is dated for Spring 2029 (our BlizzCon recap), which makes this the nearer big action RPG date. The launch also lands six days before the Winter Sale opens on December 17 (Steam sale calendar), so a free download gets about a week before the discounts start competing for the same backlog budget.

Duelist: the one class with a long official demo

The Duelist has been on screen longest, since the 35-minute Duelist Deep Dive of August 27. Game director Jonathan Rogers says swords are defined by flow "from attack to attack and from stance to stance". After some skills you hold the button to enter Ready Stance, which turns the basic slash into an area attack (1:03). Ready Stance upgrades into Sand Stance after a stun with Sand Scour, or into Blood Stance after Bloodied Blade (1:33, 2:36). Dual-wielding swords adds a parry.

The deep dive also said "we didn't show any Ascendancy classes" (18:27). The November 6 post is the first place we found the two names, Knight and Master-at-Arms. The Duelist is not in the 0.5.5 patch: the Forbidden Rites FAQ says it "will be released on December 11th". Of the two new classes, this is the one we can judge from footage. The Shadow has an 83-second trailer and a bullet list behind it.

Image: Grinding Gear Games, Steam store screenshot

Shadow and Conquerors of Wraeclast: new, and mostly on paper

For the Shadow, GGG's post says monsters cannot see you in Stealth until you get within a short distance, and dagger skills get bonuses while you hide. Traps are thrown while stealthed and go off automatically as you strike, "in the order they were thrown". That is the developer's description.

Video: "Path of Exile 2: The Shadow Trailer", Path of Exile official YouTube channel, posted November 6, 2026 (1:23).

Conquerors of Wraeclast is the challenge league. You recruit troops, take castles for a new crafting material and, in the endgame, build a stronghold with one of three factions. The post also says you can "delegate Atlas progression to your own commanders" through a real-time system and team up with your faction across the league to capture castles from other player factions. The delegation line is the promise we would watch most closely, because it changes how the map endgame is played, not only what you fight. The trailer description names Varek and the Blood Lord.

Players who posted Early Access reviews on November 7, the day after the reveal, were split. Steam user chocolate, 209.9 hours on record, recommends the game: "I'm too employed to keep playing this game but I wish I was unemployed to play more. Can't wait for full release - Shadow looks cool af." Steam user Cehi, 23.6 hours, does not recommend it: "Skill gem system is nonsense. Low level bosses are hard. I accept poe 1 was way easier and boring but this is not optimal." Two reviews prove nothing about the whole player base; they do show the two conversations around 1.0, excitement for the new class and friction with skill gems and early bosses. We read both on the Steam community page on November 8.

Image: Grinding Gear Games, Steam store screenshot

Registration rewards: sign up before the cutoff

Signing up at pathofexile2.com/register earns at least one exclusive microtransaction, up to five if the community unlocks all four milestones (Registration FAQ, August 26). By October 19 two milestones were reached, so everyone registered gets two cosmetic effects (Steam, October 19). Codes are emailed after launch, one per account, and work on Steam, Epic, PlayStation and Xbox accounts.

A September 3 post said "until December 10th"; later posts, including the one on October 19, say "until December 11th". Plan around the 11th, register early and confirm the email, which the posts say is required. Purchasing Early Access does not grant the rewards by itself.

PC specs, consoles and Steam Deck

Steam lists a minimum of an Intel Core i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 2500X, 8 GB of RAM and a GTX 960 with 3 GB of VRAM, and a recommended Core i5-10500 or Ryzen 5 3700X, 16 GB and an RTX 2060 (Steam store page). Both tiers want 100 GB of free space, with an SSD recommended. Valve rates it Steam Deck Verified, announced September 24. Steam's API showed 11,781 players in game at 02:31 UTC on November 8, and 169,145 Steam reviews.

Consoles are already in the picture. Early Access already runs on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series: GGG's May 11 FAQ lists both for the Return of the Ancients launch on May 29, "on all supported platforms, including the standalone PC client, Steam and Epic Games Store clients as well as Xbox Series and PlayStation 5". GameSpew reports that 1.0 lands on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on the same date (November 7 report). GGG's own ExileCon post does not name platforms, so that line is the outlet's, not a GGG statement we read.

What we still cannot tell you

Here is what GGG has not told us. The launch hour: the fan-run Path of Exile 2 Wiki lists 19:00 UTC on December 11, but it cites no GGG post we could read, so we do not treat it as confirmed. Prices: we could not read a current Early Access price through Steam's store API on November 8, and the five new supporter packs have none yet. Gameplay: nobody outside GGG has shown long hands-on footage of the Shadow, and the Conquerors of Wraeclast post gives no faction size or league length. We will update this page when GGG posts the hour; the reveal broadcast itself aired at 12:30 PM PST on November 6.

References

• Path of Exile 2 on Steam: release state, requirements, platforms
• Path of Exile 2 Steam news: all dated GGG announcements cited above
• Path of Exile 2 official site: registration and news
• Path of Exile on YouTube: Duelist Deep Dive and the November 6 trailers
• Steam Deck compatibility report, Valve
• Steam Frame price and release date: if you are weighing Valve hardware for a free action RPG