Path of Exile 2 1.0 goes free to play on December 11

Path of Exile 2 1.0 launches on December 11, 2026, and the game turns free to play for everyone. Grinding Gear Games used ExileCon 2026 to reveal two new classes, the finished six-act campaign and a new league.

The sequel has been in paid early access on Steam since December 2024. Almost two years later, the studio is closing that chapter. The news came from the ExileCon stage in New Zealand on the evening of November 6 (PST).

When and how does Path of Exile 2 1.0 launch?

The official Steam announcement lists December 11, 2026 (PST). From that day the game is free to play. You can jump in through Steam or Grinding Gear Games' own launcher. The exact launch hour is not in the announcement yet; the studio usually shares it a few days before release.

Item	Details
Release date	December 11, 2026 (PST)
Price	Free to play
Platform	PC (Steam and GGG launcher)
New classes	Shadow, Duelist
New league	Conquerors of Wraeclast
Campaign	Completed with Acts 5 and 6

New classes: the Shadow and the Duelist

The Shadow brings a brand new Stealth mechanic. While hidden, monsters only notice you once you get very close. Staying in the shadows also boosts dagger skills. His second weapon type is traps. Traps explode in the order you threw them, which makes combos easy to plan. PCGamesN describes throwing a Freeze Trap and then a Concussive Trap to shatter frozen enemies. The Shadow starts with the Assassin and Infiltrator Ascendancies.

The Duelist is a swordsman built around stances. Ready Stance empowers sword skills, and you can upgrade it into Sand or Blood Stance for deadlier combos. He launches with the Knight and Master-at-Arms Ascendancies. The Knight even gets a Squire companion you can fully equip.

How does the campaign end?

Version 1.0 adds Acts 5 and 6. The announcement promises 24 new areas, 18 new major bosses and more than 20 bespoke Champion Rare encounters. Act 5 takes players back to Oriath, closing the story of the hunt for the Beast.

What does the Conquerors of Wraeclast league add?

The new league layers strategy on top of the action. You recruit troops, build an army and lay siege to castles. More than 70 points of interest across the campaign offer soldiers and unique missions. Captured castles hide treasury rooms with a new crafting material. It lets you pick the modifiers you want to reforge on an item.

In the endgame you build your own stronghold and pick one of three factions; PC Gamer names them as Karui, Ezomyte and Marraketh. Everyone in a faction works together to capture castles from rival factions. Commanders can also run maps for you, a system that echoes Kingsmarch from the first game.

What changes for items, skills and the passive tree?

• More than 40 new Unique Items, with over 70 existing ones reworked.
• New skills for classes that lacked them, such as the Warrior and the Witch.
• A large Support Gem rebalance that makes many of them more useful.
• Hundreds of new passive stats, with Jewel sockets moved inside clusters.
• According to PC Gamer, the Atlas tree shrinks from 300+ nodes to about 70.
• Mercenary reloading changes, plus reworks for Infernalist, Blood Mage and Acolyte of Chayula.

Game director Jonathan Rogers told PCGamesN that the team cut around 30 GB from the install, then added about 40 GB of new content for 1.0. In short, the disk footprint will not change much.

What does it mean for players?

Going free to play makes Path of Exile 2 far more tempting for anyone who skipped the early access fee. December will be busy for ARPG fans. On the Path of Exile 1 side, 3.30 Covens of Umbra starts on November 13, and our Path of Exile 3.30 report has the details. We also covered the sequel's earlier three-week delay. For another big Steam launch this season, see our Phantom Blade Zero player peak story.

Expect login queues on launch day. Early access owners should keep an eye on the official announcement for account and item details.

Frequently asked questions

When does Path of Exile 2 1.0 release?

Grinding Gear Games has set the full release for December 11, 2026 (PST).

Will Path of Exile 2 be free to play?

Yes. The paid early access phase ends with 1.0 and the game becomes free to play for everyone.

Which classes arrive with 1.0?

The dagger and trap focused Shadow and the sword wielding Duelist, each with two Ascendancy classes at launch.

Sources

• Grinding Gear Games Steam announcement (November 6, 2026)
• PC Gamer: what's in Path of Exile 2 1.0
• PCGamesN: ExileCon 2026 report
• Path of Exile 2 official site