Jonathan Rogers, game director of Path of Exile 2, is eager for all the questions about when the game will leave early access to finally stop. Its next update, Return of the Ancients, reworks the entire post-campaign grind into a guided experience with quests and boss fights, a huge overhaul that Rogers says will be the last before PoE 2 hits 1.0 later this year.
"We don't have a date for you," Rogers said during a recent press event, "but it will be a little bit after ExileCon, which is in November."
Rogers clarified to PC Gamer in a later interview that the game will continue to get balance updates and maybe a mini league or two before it hits 1.0, but that Return of the Ancients, or patch 0.5.0, will be the last proper expansion until then.
The 1.0 update will come with the last two acts of the campaign and every ascendancy (sub-class) for the existing character classes. Only a few of the other five previously announced classes, however, will make it in time, which also means all the new weapon types, like swords, might not make it in either.
"I want to get this game finished. I really, really do," Rogers said. "It's definitely something that I've been looking forward to for a very long time. So I want to just get back to regular league development and not have all this other stuff going on."
Rogers says he hopes 0.5.0 will make the game feel complete, now that its endgame directs players through its interlocking mechanics and sprawling Atlas world map. All of the game's endgame systems have been upgraded to be more intuitive and more customizable than before, giving players opportunities to heavily invest into each one for their powerful rewards.
In other words, PoE 2 won't feel like two games smashed together. Finishing the campaign in the current version of the game feels like playing a Call of Duty story before the multiplayer: You go from a linear, narrative-driven experience to a big sandbox of things to do. Return of the Ancients is the product of Grinding Gear Games spending several months figuring out how to give the game a satisfying endpoint for players who aren't interested in the infinite grind.
Outside of whatever tweaks it might need after players get their hands on the update later this month, PoE 2 will be ready to leave early access behind and go free-to-play. If I had to guess, ExileCon will be where we'll hear about an exact release date. I just hope it's soon after because, as much as I enjoy the endgame, I need to see the conclusion of one of my favorite action RPG campaigns ever.
Return of the Ancients, patch 0.5.0, drops on May 29.
