Grinding Gear Games has a date circled on its calendar. On August 25, 2026, at gamescom 2026 in Cologne, the studio officially speaks up again about Path of Exile 2. Between promised unreleased gameplay, ExileCon scheduled for November in Auckland, and a 1.0 version still without a date, there’s no shortage of news on the topic. Some of what’s been circulating about Path of Exile 2 in recent weeks mixes verified announcements with predictions from sites that sell in-game currency. Here’s the breakdown of what’s confirmed by Grinding Gear Games, what’s likely, and what should be read with caution.
Gamescom 2026: what Path of Exile 2 will show on August 25
The announcement is official. Grinding Gear Games confirms Path of Exile 2’s presence at gamescom 2026, via its forum and a Steam news post. The studio’s booth is located at Hall 6.1, spot B031, at Koelnmesse. A special demo will be playable there only on-site, during the show running from August 26 to 30. Content creators and journalists can request a demo slot by writing to the studio’s communications address.
The public broadcast goes through gamescom’s Opening Night Live, on August 25 at 11:00 AM Pacific time (8:00 PM CET). This broadcast covers several games, not just Path of Exile 2. Grinding Gear Games hasn’t published a precise timing for its own segment. Several outlets report unreleased gameplay and developer comments on the game’s long-term direction, in line with the studio’s previous statements. This specific point remains to be confirmed by an official statement.
- August 25, 11:00 AM Pacific time (8:00 PM CET): Opening Night Live at gamescom, with a segment dedicated to Path of Exile 2
- August 26 to 30: gamescom show in Cologne, playable demo at the GGG booth
- November 7 and 8: ExileCon in Auckland, New Zealand
- Late 2026, no precise date: targeted release for the 1.0 version
ExileCon 2026, heading to Auckland in November
Beyond gamescom, Grinding Gear Games has set another major date. ExileCon will take place on November 7 and 8, 2026, at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Badge pickup and a VIP dinner open the weekend starting November 6. Three ticket tiers exist: standard access at 250 dollars, the VIP pass at 750 dollars, and an Ultra VIP pass at 2000 dollars including a dinner with the development team.
This will be the event’s third edition, after 2019 and 2023. It also falls on Grinding Gear Games’ twentieth anniversary, the New Zealand studio behind Path of Exile 2. On-site, visitors will be able to try still-unreleased content on demo stations, in addition to the announcements expected on stage.
Qualifications for ExileCon have already begun
The road to Auckland doesn’t start at gamescom. Grinding Gear Games is running four solo self-found qualifying races, on August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2026, always at 2:00 PM Pacific time (11:00 PM CET). The principle is simple on paper: be the first to defeat the Tavakai boss in Act 4, on a fixed layout, with a two-and-a-half-minute immobility penalty on each death. The second of these four qualifiers started on August 13.
The winner of each race gets an Ultra VIP ticket to ExileCon, flight and accommodation to Auckland, a spot at the on-site finale, and an exclusive headset. The details of the four races, their schedules, and what’s at stake can be found in our article about the four races that send a player to ExileCon.
Path of Exile 2’s 1.0: what’s confirmed, what isn’t
Path of Exile 2’s Steam page: Grinding Gear Games confirms its presence in Cologne with a demo playable only on-site.
On the release date for Path of Exile 2’s 1.0 version, Grinding Gear Games hasn’t communicated any precise day. The 0.5.0 patch, Return of the Ancients, released on May 29, 2026, with two new ascendancies and the Runes of Aldur mechanic. The studio presented it as the last major early access update before 1.0.
Jonathan Rogers, game director at Grinding Gear Games, has been quoted by several outlets, including PC Gamer and GamingBolt. He explains that 1.0 will arrive a bit after November’s ExileCon. He has also reportedly said he wants to really finish the game, but refuses to give a firm date. The reason: the campaign, balancing, and endgame content must first be judged ready. In other words, a release by the end of 2026 is plausible and consistent with these statements, without being an officially announced date. Our article about the two things GGG has kept quiet about 1.0 covers this point in detail.
A change should come with this release. The requirement to buy a 30-dollar supporter pack to play Path of Exile 2 in early access is set to disappear with 1.0. The game will then switch to fully free-to-play, with no entry ticket.
Patch 0.5.5 and merchant sites: sorting fact from fiction before you believe it
This is where caution is needed. A good portion of the content circulating about patch 0.5.5, the update expected right after gamescom 2026, comes from sites that sell in-game currency or accelerated progression services. These sites publish articles presented as confirmed guides. You’ll find lists of balance changes, a new month-long event league, and precise release dates. They almost never link back to a primary source from Grinding Gear Games.
Two short event leagues are said to bridge the gap between patch 0.5.0 and Path of Exile 2’s 1.0. This idea keeps coming up across several industry outlets, but no official statement from the studio has yet detailed its exact content or dates. Until Grinding Gear Games publishes its own patch notes, everything presented as settled about 0.5.5 remains a hypothesis. It is not an established fact.
The August 25 event should precisely clear up some of these gray areas. Until then, the rule stays simple for anything related to Path of Exile 2: information without an identifiable primary source, no matter how precise and detailed it looks, remains a rumor.
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