Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
The first ever ExileCon has begun and the weekend-long celebration of Path of Exile has kicked off with the ExileCon Announcement Keynote. Fans of the Grinding Gear Games dungeon crawler have come from all over the world to attend the show in New Zealand and the developer is looking to make their efforts worthwhile with some new announcements. The first one is a pretty big one, as the Grinding Gear heads revealed a first look at the future of Path of Exile, which will feature more than a big expansion. It'll also include a full-blown sequel.
Grinding Gear notes that Path of Exile 2 will feature a full-blown seven-act storyline that will unfold concurrently with the original Path of Exile's campaign. Both games will continue with their campaigns and build towards a shared endgame. The big differences in Path of Exile 2 will involved an improved skill system, 19 brand new Ascendancy classes, and engine improvements. The 19 Ascendancy classes promise to differ from the ones available in the original Path of Exile. Players can also find a simplified Skill Gem system, along with new weapons and armor. Players will also get new abilities, like the ability to shapeshift.
The Path of Exile 2 campaign will take place 20 years after the events of the original game, with the continent of Wraeclast slowly rebuilding itself following the death of Kitava.
We had originally stated that Path of Exile 2 would release in 2020, but this does not appear to be the case. In fact, Grinding Gear notes that this game will require some time in the oven. A beta is tentatively set for late 2020, but this date is likely to change. The current Path of Exile development schedule will not be affected. New expansions are expected to release every three months, a schedule that will continue even after the sequel is released. In fact, the three-month cycle will see content added to both Path of Exile 2 and the original Path of Exile campaigns concurrently.
We will continue to monitor this story and update it as more information arises. In the meantime, the Path of Exile 2 landing page is now active. Stay tuned for more news from ExileCon.