Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access and fully launches on December 11, 2026 (PST) — and at that point it becomes free-to-play. GGG confirmed this today via an exclusive reveal during gamescom's Opening Night Live in Cologne, then posted it as a "Major Update" on the game's own Steam page.
This is not a leak or a guide-site guess. It's GGG's own announcement, posted from their own Steam news hub today.
What was announced
- 1.0 release date: December 11, 2026 (PST). This is when Path of Exile 2 exits Early Access.
- Free-to-play at launch. This was already the plan (GGG's own Steam FAQ has said "once the game is out of Early Access, Path of Exile 2 will be free-to-play" throughout Early Access) — today's post is the first time it's tied to a specific date.
- New class: the Duelist, revealed in a new trailer during the ONL segment. GGG's own copy for it — "Get your blades ready!" — points to a sword-focused kit. Full mechanical detail (Ascendancies, weapon type, attributes) hasn't been published yet; treat anything beyond "sword-focused, called the Duelist" as guide-site speculation until GGG says more.
- Pre-registration is open at pathofexile2.com/register — sign up for release updates and what GGG is calling "exclusive milestone rewards on the road to launch."
Between now and December 11
Two more checkpoints are already on the calendar:
- GGG Live, August 27, 12:30 PM PDT (twitch.tv/pathofexile) — GGG's own description now confirms this previews "new information about Path of Exile 2 and 0.5.5," followed by a short Q&A. We had this as a bare save-the-date in an earlier post; it's now confirmed content, not just a calendar mark.
- ExileCon 2026, November 7–8, in Auckland, New Zealand — GGG's third ExileCon, with hands-on play and "major announcements." This lands about a month before the 1.0 launch itself.
On PoE Source
- PoE 2 Ascendancies — the 8 classes and 22+ Ascendancies live today; the Duelist will add at least one more class to this roster
- Classes & Ascendancies overview
- PoE 2 campaign
- PoE 2 Crafting
We'll cover the Duelist's actual kit once GGG publishes it — likely in pieces across the August 27 stream and ExileCon, not all at once today.
Sources: Path of Exile 2 Fully Releases on December 11! — Steam News (GGG, official) · Play Path of Exile 2 for Free on December 11 — official trailer · Path of Exile 2 on Steam