ExileCon, the Path of Exile fan convention, is ongoing throughout the weekend, but the event started off with a major announcement. Grinding Gears Games is officially working on a sequel to the popular free-to-play ARPG Path of Exile. Path of Exile 2 will offer up an entirely new story campaign, new playable classes, and a reworked endgame optimized based on feedback from Path of Exile's always dedicated fanbase. However, Path of Exile 2 won't be arriving any time soon.
It's perhaps an odd comparison, but Path of Exile 2's and Diablo 4's announcements are being closely tied together given they were made within weeks of each other, both were made at fan conventions from their developers, and both are for games that are at least a year or two away from being released. It's almost like the two games are aligning with intention, setting up a wave of ARPGs that could bring back a focus to the genre. A new era for ARPGs, of sorts.
As such, Path of Exile 2 made its case during ExileCon for why it should be the ARPG that fans of the genre look forward to. The announcement was made with a short official Path of Exile 2 trailer, made entirely in-engine, and was followed up with a lengthy 14-minute gameplay showcase. The improvements are immediately apparent, as Path of Exile 2 is built on a massively overhauled engine.
Also interesting about Path of Exile 2 is its Overwatch 2 approach to joining its playerbase on one platform. "One Game Two Campaigns" is Grinding Gears' pitch, a plan to allow players to play through either Path of Exile or Path of Exile 2 to reach the new endgame. From there, there will be grand joining of the different classes between the two campaigns, leading to new shared Ascendencies. It's an exciting idea that's certain to add a diversity of content to Path of Exile 2, though may also be limiting it from getting too experimental.
Path of Exile 2 is, unfortunately, quite a way off from launching. Grinding Gear Games has already confirmed that it will continue sharing more information about the game's development for at least the next year. In the meantime, support for Path of Exile continues on its 3-month cycle for expansion content. During ExileCon a new story expansion was also announced named Conquerors of Atlas. Conquerors of Atlas releases December 13. It'll be a great opportunity to jump into the game and start building up experience for the sequel's eventual release.
Path of Exile 2 has no current release window but is planned for PC.