Path of Exile 2 1.0: Everything We Know About the Full Release

Path of Exile 2 leaves early access on 11 December 2026 (Pacific time) and becomes fully free-to-play the same day, with the Duelist joining as the new class. Grinding Gear Games announced the date at gamescom Opening Night Live on 25 August 2026, and most of the remaining details are due at ExileCon on 6–7 November.

This guide is built on Grinding Gear Games' own announcements on Steam (up to 8 October 2026), the Steam store page and Steam's player count, all checked on 18 October 2026, plus RPG Site and Windows Central for what GGG showed on stage. Where GGG hasn't said something, we say so rather than guess.

When does Path of Exile 2 1.0 come out?

The full release is on 11 December 2026, Pacific Standard Time, which is a Friday. GGG has repeated the date in every 1.0 post since the announcement, including the registration FAQ and the Steam Deck announcement on 24 September.

No launch hour has been announced. For reference only, the Forbidden Rites event started at 1pm PDT on 4 September, a time GGG confirmed in its event FAQ less than a week before. If 1.0 follows a similar pattern, Europe would get it in the evening of 11 December and Australia and New Zealand on the morning of the 12th. That is a habit, not a promise.

Is Path of Exile 2 free to play at 1.0?

Yes. GGG's announcement says the game "launches as a fully free-to-play action RPG" on 11 December. Until then, early access still needs a paid pack: on the US Steam store the Early Access Supporter Pack costs $29.99, with the Lord of Ogham pack at $59.99 and King of the Faridun at $99.99 (prices read on 18 October 2026).

GGG frames the choice plainly in its Steam Deck post: buy the early access key now, or play as the Duelist when the game goes free on 11 December. A pack buys you roughly eight weeks of play before launch, plus whatever cosmetics each one lists on the store. The base game itself will cost nothing after launch, as it has for the first Path of Exile since 2013.

What is the Duelist, and what do we know about it?

The Duelist is the class that arrives with 1.0. GGG revealed it in a trailer at gamescom Opening Night Live and followed up with a Duelist deep dive on 27 August, presenting it as a long-awaited class and weapon type: the Duelist is how swords arrive in Path of Exile 2.

Coverage of the reveal fills in some detail. RPG Site describes a fast, aggressive sword-and-shield fighter and calls it the game's first sword class. Windows Central, writing on 28 August, mentions one- and two-handed swords, parries and stance-based attacks, and two Ascendancy classes whose details are due at ExileCon.

One thing is settled: the Duelist is not in the current 0.5.5 patch. GGG's Forbidden Rites FAQ answers that question directly and puts the class on 11 December with 1.0. Builds, skills and numbers posted before then are based on trailer footage, not on the live game.

Does Path of Exile 2 1.0 finish the campaign?

Path of Exile 2 was planned as a six-act campaign, and early access opened in December 2024 with three of them, according to Wikipedia's development history. RPG Site's report on the 1.0 announcement says the full release adds the final two acts and completes the story.

GGG's own Steam announcements that we checked confirm the date, the free-to-play switch and the Duelist, but they do not list the rest of 1.0's content. Expect the full picture, from the acts to endgame changes and the Duelist's Ascendancies, at the ExileCon keynote, and treat any content list circulating before then as unconfirmed.

When is ExileCon 2026, and what time is the keynote?

ExileCon 2026 runs on 7 and 8 November in New Zealand time, which is 6 and 7 November in Europe and the Americas. According to GGG's event post, both days stream free on Twitch and YouTube from 12pm PST, and the keynote with the big announcements starts at 1pm PST on the first day. The race finals for both Path of Exile games run the same weekend.

What happens to Runes of Aldur, Forbidden Rites and your characters?

Both current leagues run right up to the full release. GGG's Forbidden Rites FAQ says the event "will run until the 1.0 full release" and ends alongside Runes of Aldur, the league that arrived with patch 0.5, Return of the Ancients, at the end of May 2026. Runes of Aldur's content has also been added to the core game, so it is playable in Standard.

What GGG has not explained, in any post we checked, is what 1.0 means for early access characters and the Standard league. It is one of the most argued-over questions in the community: a 12 October thread on r/PathOfExile2 asking whether early access Standard becomes a "frozen version" of the game drew 44 comments and no official answer.

How do the Full Release registration rewards work?

GGG is running a sign-up campaign at pathofexile2.com/register. According to the registration FAQ, everyone who registers and confirms their email gets at least one exclusive cosmetic, and more unlock as the community passes registration milestones: if all four are reached, each player gets five in total.

The Soulflame Weapon Effect unlocked on 21 September, so registered players are already guaranteed two cosmetics, with three milestones left. Codes are emailed after the 11 December launch and can be redeemed once, on any Path of Exile account, including accounts linked to PlayStation and Xbox.

The deadline is slightly inconsistent in GGG's own posts: the 3 September announcement says registration is open until 10 December, while the 21 September update says 11 December PST. Register by 10 December and the question doesn't arise.

Which platforms is 1.0 on, and how many people play it now?

Path of Exile 2 is on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and RPG Site lists Steam, the Epic Games Store and GGG's standalone client on PC. The Steam version is Windows-only on the store page, and GGG announced on 24 September that it is now Steam Deck Verified.

On Steam, 19,473 people were playing at 11:09 UTC on 18 October 2026, according to Steam's concurrent player API. That is a Sunday afternoon in Europe, almost five months into the Runes of Aldur league and with no fresh league due before 1.0. The free-to-play switch removes the paywall that has stood in front of the game since December 2024, so the December numbers will be the first real test of how far it can reach.

What we still don't know about Path of Exile 2 1.0

Eight weeks out, the gaps are bigger than the confirmed list. None of these has an official answer in GGG's posts up to 8 October 2026:

• The launch hour on 11 December.
• GGG's own confirmation of how many acts 1.0 ships with, and what changes in the endgame.
• The Duelist's Ascendancy classes and skills in detail (due at ExileCon, according to Windows Central).
• What happens to early access characters and the Standard league.
• Whether the paid early access packs stay on sale right up to launch.

We will update this guide after the ExileCon keynote on 6 November and again at launch, with each change listed in the update log.

What to read next

Our ExileCon follow-ups and launch guides will all sit on the Path of Exile 2 hub. If you are tracking other early access games on the road to 1.0, our Slay the Spire 2 roadmap guide sets out what Mega Crit has said about its next update and full release.