On the closing stage of ExileCon 2026 in Auckland, Grinding Gear Games set calendar dates for two long-running action RPGs, as if marking the end of a long apprenticeship. Path of Exile 2 will shed its Early Access status on December 11, 2026, stepping out into the wider world as a free-to-play game, carrying a new class called the Shadow and the final two acts of its campaign. Before that threshold, the original Path of Exile will first open its Covens of Umbra expansion on November 13, reshaping its endgame and asking players to relearn how their journeys end.
Path of Exile 2 Leaves Early Access December 11 With Shadow Class, Acts 5-6 and Conquerors of Wraeclast
Ambush, kill, vanish, repeat.
Mark
Two games, two dates. Why does this announcement matter beyond the calendar?
Mimi
Because Path of Exile 2 stops being an Early Access title. It goes free to play on December 11 with the whole campaign, Acts 5 and 6 included, so anyone can reach the ending.
Mark
And the Shadow? What is it actually about?
Mimi
Stealth that resets on every kill. You ambush, kill, vanish. Traps placed while hidden fire in the order you set them once stealth breaks, and there are eight types.
Luke
Worth saying that the big numbers, ten classes, 26 Ascendancies, 320 skills, 400 Uniques, come from the studio. We have no independent count.
Mark
Fair. What about the original game?
Mimi
Covens of Umbra lands November 13. Witch covens, the Wickerman effigy system, and Threads of Creation replacing Scarabs.
Luke
Note that the Threads claim is that they can guarantee up to three primary league mechanics in a map. How that feels in practice is unknown until people play it.
Mark
The league sounds like a different kind of Atlas.
Mimi
It is a war map. Armies, a stronghold, three commanders, 23 battles, then 100 castles contested with rival factions.
Luke
And the second Duelist Ascendancy, Master of Arms, has no date beyond later. That is still open.
Le Pouls
- Path of Exile 2 must shed its Early Access skin on December 11, forcing a studio and its players toward a hard public launch date.
- The new Shadow class, built on ambush, stealth and traps, arrives as a fresh shock to established builds and playstyles.
- Acts 5 and 6 bring 24 areas and 18 new bosses, pushing the campaign toward its war-torn finale in Oriath.
- Covens of Umbra lands on November 13 with reworked endgame mechanics, setting the stage for a month of adjustment before the December launch.
On the closing stage of ExileCon 2026 in Auckland, Grinding Gear Games set calendar dates for two long-running action RPGs, as if marking the end of a long apprenticeship. Path of Exile 2 will shed its Early Access status on December 11, 2026, stepping out into the wider world as a free-to-play game, carrying a new class called the Shadow and the final two acts of its campaign. Before that threshold, the original Path of Exile will first open its Covens of Umbra expansion on November 13, reshaping its endgame and asking players to relearn how their journeys end.
At the close of ExileCon 2026 in Auckland, Grinding Gear Games put dates on both of its action RPGs. Path of Exile 2 will leave Early Access on December 11, 2026, launching free to play with the Conquerors of Wraeclast league, a new class called the Shadow, and the last two acts of its campaign.
The original Path of Exile arrives first. Its Covens of Umbra expansion, patch 3.30, lands on November 13 and pits players against witch covens, introducing the Wickerman system for building effigies from dead bosses, boss Fates that can be bent toward better rewards, and Threads of Creation to replace Scarabs. The Atlas tree and item drops also get sweeping reworks.
In Path of Exile 2, Acts 5 and 6 bring 24 areas, 18 new bosses and over twenty special encounters, returning to a war-wrecked Oriath as the run toward the Twilight Order and the Beast closes the campaign. The studio's own launch claims are large: ten classes, 26 Ascendancies, over 320 skills and more than 400 Uniques, though these figures come from the studio itself.
The Shadow thrives on ambush, kill, vanish, and repeat, with traps that wait in stealth and fire in the order placed. The Duelist gains the Knight Ascendancy, and the Conquerors league turns the Atlas into a war map of armies, castles and rival factions. The next date to watch is November 13, a month before the December launch.
Grinding Gear Games used the close of ExileCon 2026 in Auckland to put dates on both of its action RPGs. Path of Exile 2 will leave Early Access on December 11, 2026 (PST) and launch as a free-to-play game, bringing the Conquerors of Wraeclast league, a new class called the Shadow, and the last two acts of the campaign.
The original Path of Exile comes first. Its Covens of Umbra expansion, patch 3.30, arrives on November 13, 2026 (PST). It sets players against witch covens and introduces the Wickerman system, which lets them build effigies from dead bosses. Players can also bend boss Fates toward better rewards. Threads of Creation replace Scarabs and can guarantee up to three primary league mechanics in a single map. The Atlas tree is redesigned, and item drops get a wide rework.
For Path of Exile 2, Acts 5 and 6 finish the campaign. Together they add 24 areas, 18 new bosses and more than 20 special encounters. The story returns to a war-wrecked Oriath as the run toward the Twilight Order and the Beast closes out the campaign.
The studio's launch figures are large. It claims ten playable classes, 26 Ascendancy classes, more than 320 skills, over 400 Unique items and 150-plus endgame maps. More than 200 new base item types join the pool, along with 40 new Uniques and over 70 revamped ones. The passive tree gets a wide rework, and Support Gems are rebalanced. These are the studio's own claims.
The Shadow is the second new class at version 1.0, joining the previously revealed Duelist. It is built around daggers, traps and a stealth state that resets on every kill, so the loop is ambush, kill, vanish, repeat. Traps laid while hidden wait until stealth breaks, then fire in the order they were placed. There are eight trap types, and they stack impale, poison, fire and ice. Shades copy the character, Darkness acts as a resource that empowers the next skill, and Eclipse treats every attack as a stealth strike. The Shadow's Ascendancies are the Assassin and the Infiltrator.
The Duelist also gains an Ascendancy, the Knight. It brings a gearable Squire that can use melee skill gems, War Banners keyed to Wraeclast's old empires, and a chariot charge that scatters and stuns enemies. A second new Duelist Ascendancy, Master of Arms, follows later.
The Conquerors of Wraeclast league turns the Atlas into a war map. Players recruit armies, raise a stronghold, hire three commanders and fight 23 campaign battles. They then contest 100 castles against rival factions, with item rarity and access to Hunting Grounds at stake. Reforging replaces unwanted modifiers with permanently fractured ones, and the Atlas passive tree is rebuilt as 70 nodes earned through objectives.
The next date to watch is November 13, when Covens of Umbra shows how the studio's endgame changes play out in the original game, a month before Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access on December 11.
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