Path of Exile 2 Goes Free-to-Play on December 11 With Version 1.0

Path of Exile 2 will leave Early Access on December 11, 2026 (PST), with Grinding Gear Games launching Version 1.0 as a fully free-to-play release. The date was announced during Gamescom Opening Night Live, with the full launch arriving just over two years after the action RPG entered Early Access in December 2024.

Version 1.0 will complete the campaign with the two remaining Acts and introduce the Duelist, a new melee class that also brings swords into Path of Exile 2. Grinding Gear Games says the full release will include a large amount of additional content and changes, with more details still to be revealed.

Path of Exile 2 entered Early Access on December 6, 2024, with access primarily available through paid Early Access Supporter Packs.

From December 11, the game will be fully free-to-play, allowing players to start without purchasing an Early Access Supporter Pack.

The full game remains separate from the original Path of Exile. Grinding Gear Games plans to continue supporting both titles rather than replacing the first game with its sequel.

Grinding Gear Games used the release-date trailer to show the Duelist, a melee class built around sword combat.

Swords have been missing from Path of Exile 2 throughout Early Access despite being a familiar weapon type from the original game. Their arrival will add another weapon archetype for character builds, with the Duelist serving as the class most closely associated with them.

The new footage showed the Duelist using fast sword attacks across groups of enemies, including combinations built around different combat effects. Grinding Gear Games has not yet given a full breakdown of the class or all of its Ascendancy options.

The current Early Access version contains four main campaign Acts followed by three temporary Interludes. Version 1.0 will add Acts 5 and 6, completing the planned six-Act campaign.

Grinding Gear Games is also preparing a larger endgame for players who complete the campaign. The studio says the finished version will contain more than 100 endgame maps, each with its own boss encounter.

Those additions are part of a wider expansion planned for release. Grinding Gear Games has previously said the finished game will expand with more classes and Ascendancies, skill gems, items, areas, monsters, bosses, and endgame content.

Grinding Gear Games has opened registration ahead of the December launch. New and existing players can sign up for release updates while contributing toward community milestones that unlock exclusive rewards.

The registration campaign runs through December 10 PST, one day before Version 1.0 launches. Grinding Gear Games has not finished revealing everything included in the full release, leaving further details about the new classes, endgame, and other launch content for the months ahead.