Path of Exile 2 beta release date, trailers, and more

Here's everything we know about PoE 2

Guide by Rebecca Jones Former Guides Writer

Additional contributions by Dion Dassanayake, and Hayden Hefford

Updated on Feb. 6, 2024

When is Path of Exile 2 due to be released? The original Path of Exile was released in 2013, a free-to-play ARPG inspired by the Diablo series. With Diablo 4 out now as well, fans of top-down action RPGs are soon going to be spoiled for choice, since Path of Exile 2 is releasing hot on its heels. A closed beta test is launching in 2024 ahead of the game's release date.

As the original Path of Exile is still in full swing, it can be hard to filter out only the relevant news about development on Path of Exile 2. So read on below for everything we've learned so far about this sequel, including the PoE 2 beta release date, gameplay details, and more.

Path of Exile 2 beta release date

The Path of Exile 2 closed beta launches on June 7th 2024. It's unclear at this time how we'll gain access to the closed beta, but presumably we will be able to register for access at some point in the coming months. You can head to the official Path of Exile 2 website right now though and enter your email, so you get alerted as soon as more details on the beta test is announced.

Closed beta aside, it isn't currently clear when Path of Exile 2 will fully launch. The developers haven't shared much of an update, previously saying in July 2023 "we're unfortunately a little bit further out than we were hoping" when discussing the game's launch. So it could be a decent wait for PoE 2, however the game's Steam page does say it's "coming soon".

Of course, Path of Exile 2 is already much-delayed. It was originally announced in 2019, and the first release date estimate placed it in 2022 at the latest, which — with the best will in the world — obviously didn't materialise.

What is Path of Exile 2?

Path of Exile 2 is a top-down ARPG, similar to the Diablo franchise, set in a dark fantasy world. In the game, you level up and unlock new abilities by fighting large hordes of enemies and monsters.

Along the way, enemies drop loot of various rarities that you can equip to steadily upgrade your character and grow even more powerful. With that power comes the ability to take on new bosses, which then drop even better loot, and then you fight more powerful monsters and... so on and so on, for all time, always.

Is Path of Exile 2 a sequel?

Despite what we were previously told, the developers have confirmed at the recent ExileCon that Path of Exile 2 will be its own separate game when it launches. This is simply due to the scope of the game increasing, meaning it is no longer suitable as an expansion or update, as was previously planned.

This means Path of Exile 1 and 2 will no longer share an endgame or campaign, with Path of Exile 2 instead becoming its own entirely separate beast. Path of Exile 1 will continue, though. Creative director Jonathan Rogers recently shared with us that "People like that game, there's no reason to destroy it if we don't have to, and we can run them both concurrently so we might as well do so." Furthermore, any in-game purchases you've made in Path of Exile 1 will be available to you in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 trailer

We got a load of new PoE 2 gameplay footage from ExileCon 2023, which you can see below.

Previously, we also got a look at Path of Exile 2 in action back in 2021:

Path of Exile 2 story

The new questline in Path of Exile 2 is set 20 years after the original story, giving players who've already rinsed the first game's plotline for all its worth something new to work through. Two decades after the death of Kitava, a new group of enemies have arisen and begun a power-grab that threatens the peace of Wraeclast.

Path of Exile 2 gameplay

Path of Exile 2 started as a major expansion for Path of Exile (the original), and indeed, it retains a lot of that identity. You'll still unlock skills, get passives, and socket gems to upgrade your character. For a better look at how things differ, check out the gameplay trailer embedded above.

If you're coming to Path of Exile 2 from other popular ARPG franchises (ahem ahem Diablo, ahem ahem), then you might be interested to know that skills do not have cooldowns in PoE2. According to the developers, "one way a lot of games do make it so you have skill variety is that they just add a bunch of cooldowns to a lot of stuff and you just have a rotation where you use one skill, then this skill, then this skill. We don't actually like that kind of design at all. We much prefer to have it so that you use skills when it makes the most sense to do so and not otherwise."

Those coming from PoE1 might be more interested to know that Path of Exile 2 will be much harder. As the developers recently told us, "when you die in POE1 on Hardcore, you can just respawn and continue the fight where you left off without having to start it again. In POE2, you do actually have to restart the boss fight and start it again. That's pretty important, because it means that the balance is quite different. We expect people to die a lot more."

That's all we know right now about Path of Exile 2, which is one of our most anticipated PC games in 2024. But if you're a fan of the original game, then we've got plenty of guides to keep you occupied while you wait for its sequel. If you've reached the endgame, you might like to familiarise yourself with the Atlas passive skill tree in Path of Exile. Or if you're not a fan of mouse and keyboard, be sure to have a look at our guide to setting up your controller to play Path of Exile.