Path of Exile 2 1.0 Release Date December 11: Free-to-Play Launch, Shadow Class, Duelist and Conquerors of Wraeclast

Path of Exile 2 1.0 is now fully revealed. Grinding Gear Games laid out the complete launch package at its ExileCon 2026 keynote in Auckland, confirming that the action RPG leaves early access on December 11, 2026, and becomes free to play for everyone on that date. The 1.0 update adds the dagger-wielding Shadow and the sword-fighting Duelist as playable classes, finishes the campaign with Acts 5 and 6, and launches Conquerors of Wraeclast, a new challenge league built around armies and sieges.

Path of Exile 2 1.0 Release Date and Free-to-Play Launch

The headline is the date and the price. Path of Exile 2 1.0 launches on Friday, December 11, 2026 (Pacific time) on PC, Mac, Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Xbox, and it will be free to play on every platform. Early access, which began on December 6, 2024, required a $30 Supporter Pack to play; from December 11 that buy-in is gone, and the full campaign and endgame are open to everyone. Grinding Gear Games has not announced an exact launch hour, only the date in Pacific time, so players in New Zealand and Australia will most likely log in on Saturday, December 12, given the time-zone gap.

The keynote ran about two hours at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, starting at 1:00 PM PST on November 6 (2:30 AM IST on November 7) after a pre-show hosted by community streamers. It covered both Path of Exile games, with the biggest announcements saved for the stage, and streamed free on Twitch and YouTube.

New Shadow Class: Daggers, Stealth and Two Ascendancies

The biggest surprise of the keynote was the second new class. The Duelist had already been confirmed at Gamescom in August, but Grinding Gear Games also revealed the Shadow, the dagger-wielding assassin returning from the original Path of Exile. The Shadow is built around daggers and traps, plus a new stealth system built on Darkness and Shade mechanics: slip into the dark, lay traps unseen and strike once everything is set. The Shadow arrives with two new Ascendancies, Infiltrator and Assassin.

Duelist Returns With Swords and the Knight Ascendancy

The Duelist is the sword fighter of the pair, focused on sword combat and stance management, and it introduces the new Sword weapon type to the sequel. Its Knight Ascendancy comes with a twist no other class has: the Knight can hire a Squire, a permanent minion that levels up alongside the player. Game director Jonathan Rogers had warned that not every class would make it into 1.0, so the finished roster is ten playable classes with 26 Ascendancy classes.

Acts 5 and 6 Complete the Campaign

The final two acts close out the story that early access left unfinished. Acts 5 and 6 add 24 new areas, 18 unique bosses and more than 20 Champion Rare encounters, taking the fight against Count Ogham, the ravenous Beast and the Twilight Order to its climax. The full campaign now runs six acts. At 1.0 the game offers more than 320 skills, over 400 Unique items and more than 150 endgame maps, with over 40 new Uniques, more than 70 revamped Uniques and a reworked passive skill tree.

Conquerors of Wraeclast: The Army-Building League

The 1.0 launch league is the most unusual thing Grinding Gear Games has ever bolted onto Path of Exile. Conquerors of Wraeclast turns the game into a miniature strategy campaign: players build an army, construct fortresses, recruit mercenaries and command soldiers in large-scale sieges to conquer enemy strongholds and claim dominion over Wraeclast. There is base building, faction warfare against enemy player factions, and competitive modes where players attack each other's bases to earn bonuses for themselves and their faction. Coverage from the show floor has called it Path of Exile meets Mount & Blade.

The new 1.0 Standard league starts from zero for everyone. Early access characters will not be wiped, and full patch notes are expected in the first week of December.

Path of Exile 1 Gets Covens of Umbra on November 13

The original game was not left out of ExileCon. Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra, the next expansion for the first game, launches on November 13, 2026 (Pacific time) on PC, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Games Store.

What to Know Before December 11

• Path of Exile 2 1.0 launches December 11, 2026 (Pacific time), free to play on PC, Mac, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Xbox.
• Two new classes: the Shadow, with daggers, traps and stealth, and the Duelist, with swords and the Knight Ascendancy's levelling Squire.
• Acts 5 and 6 finish the campaign with 24 areas, 18 bosses and more than 20 Champion Rare encounters.
• Conquerors of Wraeclast is the launch league, adding armies, fortresses and sieges.
• Early access characters are not wiped, and the new Standard league starts fresh for everyone.
• Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra launches November 13, 2026, and full 1.0 patch notes are expected in early December.