Hide
Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access and hits version 1.0 on 11 December 2026 — confirmed by Grinding Gear Games at Gamescom Opening Night Live. The headline change: 1.0 is fully free-to-play. The $30 Early Access buy-in disappears, and anyone can download and play on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S at launch. Grinding Gear hasn’t confirmed the exact unlock hour, but its major updates have historically gone live around 1:00 PM PST, so expect that ballpark on the 11th.
Here is everything on the PoE 2 1.0 launch: the date, the likely go-live time by region, whether it’s really free, which platforms, and what happens to your Early Access progress. Details are from GGG’s announcements and launch coverage (Maxroll, Game8, Wccftech), as of 5 November 2026; the exact launch time was still unconfirmed.
Release date & likely time
The date is firm: 11 December 2026. The time is not — GGG hasn’t published an hour — but its big content drops usually land at 1:00 PM PST (21:00 UTC), so the table below converts that expected slot across regions. Treat these as estimates until Grinding Gear confirms.
| Region / time zone | Likely unlock (~1 PM PST) | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific (PST, UTC−8) | 1:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Mountain (MST, UTC−7) | 2:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Central (CST, UTC−6) | 3:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Eastern (EST, UTC−5) | 4:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Brazil (BRT, UTC−3) | 6:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| UK (GMT, UTC+0) | 9:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Central Europe (CET, UTC+1) | 10:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| Kyiv / EET (UTC+2) | 11:00 PM | 11 Dec |
| India (IST, UTC+5:30) | 2:30 AM | 12 Dec |
| Sydney (AEDT, UTC+11) | 8:00 AM | 12 Dec |
| New Zealand (NZDT, UTC+13) | 10:00 AM | 12 Dec |
Is it free now?
Yes — from 11 December, Path of Exile 2 is free-to-play. During Early Access you had to buy in via a Supporter Pack (listed at $29.99 on Steam), but that paywall comes down at 1.0: anyone can download and play the full game for free on every platform, in the same business model as the original Path of Exile. Like PoE 1, expect it to be free with optional cosmetic microtransactions and stash-tab purchases rather than pay-to-win mechanics — GGG’s long-standing monetisation approach. If you already own Early Access, you keep what you paid for; if you’ve been waiting, 11 December is the day the cost of entry drops to zero. That free-to-play flip is the single biggest reason 1.0 is expected to bring a huge wave of new players.
Platforms & crossplay
PoE 2 1.0 launches simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S — no staggered console rollout this time. On PC it’s available through the standalone client, Steam and Epic. Path of Exile has historically supported cross-play and cross-progression across platforms, letting you share your account and characters between PC and console, which makes the free-to-play launch especially friendly for console players who want to try it without a purchase. If you’re deciding where to play, PC remains the platform with the deepest trade and community tooling, but the console versions are full-featured and share the same leagues and content. Whatever you pick, 1.0 is the same game and the same launch day across all three.
What happens to Early Access
If you’ve been playing the Early Access version, 1.0 is an upgrade, not a reset of your purchase — the Supporter Pack value you bought carries over. What will change is the game around your characters: 1.0 adds the remaining campaign Acts, the new Duelist class and its swords, and brings the Early Access leagues (such as Forbidden Rites / Runes of Aldur) to a close, as a full release typically starts fresh economy and league structures. Grinding Gear has also cautioned that not every planned class and Ascendancy will necessarily arrive at 1.0 — the game shipped Early Access with a partial roster and has been adding to it, so expect the full 12-class vision to keep filling in after launch. For exactly how Early Access characters and the economy carry into 1.0, watch GGG’s official launch notes, which were still forthcoming as of 5 November.
PoE 2 1.0 release FAQ
Details are as of 5 November 2026, from GGG’s Gamescom announcement and launch coverage (Maxroll, Game8, Wccftech, Fextralife). The exact 1.0 launch time was unconfirmed; regional times are converted from GGG’s usual ~1 PM PST slot — verify on the official site before 11 December.
