Path Of Exile 2 expected release window, gameplay and story details, and everything we know

When is Path Of Exile 2 due to be released? The original Path Of Exile was released in 2013, a free-to-play ARPG inspired by the Diablo series. With the news that Diablo 4 will be out in June of this year, fans of top-down action RPGs are soon to be quite spoiled for choice, since Path Of Exile 2 is set to release hot on its heels. I look forward to seeing who emerges as the victor.

With the original Path Of Exile still in full swing, it can be hard to filter out only the relevant news about development on Path Of Exile 2. So read on below for everything we've learned so far about this sequel of sorts, including expected release window, gameplay details, and more.

Path Of Exile 2 expected release window

Path Of Exile 2 is expected at some point in 2023, but that's the closest we have to a release date right now. However, Grinding Gear Games have promised a more substantive status update at their Exilecon in July this year.

Of course, Path Of Exile 2 is already much-delayed. It was originally announced in 2019, and the first release date estimate placed it in 2022 at the latest, which — with the best will in the world — obviously didn't materialise. However, the fact that much is being made of this Exilecon reveal perhaps gives us reason to hope that 2023 is a more firm release window than the previous one.

What is Path Of Exile 2?

Path Of Exile 2, despite the name, isn't technically a sequel to Path Of Exile. Instead, Path Of Exile 2 is best understood as a significant patch/DLC to the original game. If I tell you that its original working title was "Path Of Exile 4.0", perhaps you'll start to see the shape of it: this game started life as a major update to the original game, and indeed it retains a lot of that history, since Path Of Exile 1 & 2 will still be linked by a shared endgame. Furthermore, any in-game purchases you've made in Path Of Exile 1 will be available to you in Path Of Exile 2.

What Path Of Exile 2 will offer over its parent game is a new seven-act storyline to supplement the original game. It will sit alongside Path Of Exile rather than supplanting it, and it seems like it'll automatically be available to players who've downloaded Path Of Exile from Steam or the Epic Games Store, as well as PS4 and XB1 for console players.

Path Of Exile 2 trailer

There hasn't been a new trailer for Path Of Exile 2 in a little while, but here's the latest one we saw in April 2021:

Path Of Exile 2 story

The new questline in Path Of Exile 2 is set 20 years after the original story, giving players who've already rinsed the first game's plotline for all its worth something new to work through. Two decades after the death of Kitava, a new group of enemies have arisen and begun a power-grab that threatens the peace of Wraeclast. It's shaping up to be a nice little continuation of the game's lore, without impacting the endgame activities that are set to remain available whether you play POE2 or not.

Path Of Exile 2 gameplay

Since we know that Path Of Exile 2 will be rolled in with Path Of Exile 1, don't expect too much of a shakeup in terms of established gameplay. The update-sequel-expansion will, however, feature a revamped skill system — including both an overhaul of the way skill gem socketing works, and a rework of the passive skill tree — and 19 new ascendency classes, as well as other as-yet-unspecified engine improvements and other updated features.

You can see the most recent gameplay preview for Path Of Exile 2 below:

That's all we know right now about Path Of Exile 2, but if you're a fan of the base game, then we've got plenty of guides to keep you occupied while you wait. If you've reached the endgame, you might like to familiarise yourself with the Atlas passive skill tree in Path Of Exile. Or if you're not a fan of mouse and keyboard, be sure to have a look at our guide to setting up your controller to play Path Of Exile.