TL;DR
Grinding Gear Games has confirmed that Path of Exile 2 will exit early access and launch in its full 1.0 version before the end of 2026, but not all of the originally promised 12 character classes will be ready at launch. This means players will face a reduced class roster at 1.0, with the missing classes arriving via post-launch updates — a strategic trade-off to hit the year-end release window.
What Happened
Grinding Gear Games director Jonathan Rogers has confirmed that Path of Exile 2 will target a full 1.0 release by the end of 2026, but the studio will not deliver all 12 originally promised character classes on day one. The admission, reported by Eurogamer.net on Thursday, May 7, 2026, marks a significant departure from the studio's pre-launch marketing and raises questions about the scope of the game's final launch state.
Key Facts
- Path of Exile 2 entered early access in December 2024 and has been in development for over five years.
- The game originally promised 12 character classes at launch, but an unspecified number will now be delayed to post-1.0 updates.
- Director Jonathan Rogers told Eurogamer that the decision was made to ensure the core game is polished and ready for a 2026 release.
- The full 1.0 launch is still targeted for "this year" — meaning before December 31, 2026.
- Path of Exile 2's early access has attracted over 1 million players based on public sales data from Grinding Gear's parent company, Tencent.
- The game is a direct sequel to the original Path of Exile (2013), which has over 30 million registered players.
- Grinding Gear Games is a New Zealand-based studio with a team of approximately 200 developers.
Breaking It Down
The decision to ship Path of Exile 2 without its full class roster is a calculated risk that reflects the brutal economics of modern game development. Grinding Gear Games has spent over five years building a game that is not merely a sequel but a complete engine overhaul — moving from the original's aging renderer to a new, physically based rendering system. The class count was a headline feature during the game's 2023 and 2024 reveals, with each class promising a unique ascendancy system and skill tree. Cutting even one class at 1.0 represents a tangible loss of marketing ammunition and player expectation.
Of the 12 promised classes, only "a majority" will be available at launch, according to Rogers, though he declined to specify exactly how many are delayed. Given that the game already launched early access with 6 classes (Warrior, Ranger, Sorceress, Monk, Mercenary, and Druid), the 1.0 release will likely add 2-3 more — leaving 1-2 classes for post-launch. This is a stark contrast to the original Path of Exile, which launched with all 7 core classes in 2013.
The studio's reasoning — prioritizing "polish" over "promises" — is defensible but carries real reputational risk. Grinding Gear Games has built its brand on depth and transparency, with a free-to-play model that avoids pay-to-win mechanics. Players have tolerated the long early access period precisely because the studio promised a complete vision. Now, that vision is being scaled back for a calendar deadline. The fact that Tencent, which acquired a majority stake in Grinding Gear in 2018, is likely pushing for a 2026 release to align with fiscal year reporting adds corporate pressure to the creative compromise.
What Comes Next
- Class reveal cadence: Expect Grinding Gear to announce the exact class lineup at 1.0 launch during Summer Game Fest or Gamescom 2026, likely in June or August. The delayed classes will be named and given tentative post-launch windows.
- Beta or stress test dates: A public 1.0 stress test is probable in Q3 2026 (September-October), giving the studio a final feedback loop before year-end launch.
- Post-launch content roadmap: Grinding Gear will need to publish a detailed timeline for missing classes, likely bundled with the first 1.0 expansion in early 2027. Players will watch this roadmap closely for signs of feature creep.
- Cross-platform parity: The 1.0 launch will include PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC simultaneously. If console versions lag behind PC on class availability, expect community backlash.
The Bigger Picture
This story sits at the intersection of two major industry trends. The first is 'Early Access as a Business Model' — where studios use extended beta periods to fund development while managing scope. Path of Exile 2's early access generated tens of millions in revenue through supporter packs, but it also locked the studio into a specific feature set that it now cannot fully deliver. The second trend is 'The Tencent Effect' — Chinese corporate ownership increasingly prioritizes hard launch dates over creative readiness, a pattern seen with Riot Games (League of Legends), Supercell (Clash Royale), and Epic Games (Fortnite). When a parent company demands a fiscal-year release, feature cuts become inevitable.
The broader implication is that even beloved, player-first studios like Grinding Gear Games are not immune to the pressure of hitting a calendar. As the industry consolidates, the gap between "what was promised" and "what ships at 1.0" will likely widen — and Path of Exile 2 may be an early, high-profile case study of that dynamic.
Key Takeaways
- [Class Cuts Confirmed]: Path of Exile 2 will launch 1.0 in 2026 without all 12 promised classes, with an unspecified number arriving post-launch.
- [Year-End Deadline]: The full release is locked to before December 31, 2026, driven by both development readiness and corporate pressure from Tencent.
- [Player Trust at Stake]: Grinding Gear Games risks eroding its reputation for transparency by scaling back a key marketing promise after five years of development.
- [Industry Pattern]: This reflects a broader trend of early access games cutting features to meet parent-company fiscal deadlines, a dynamic increasingly common under Tencent ownership.
