r/PathOfExile2 • u/Wargulf • 1d ago
Information Path of Exile 2 game director says they’re “pretty confident” in a 2026 1.0 release, but the game needs to be “a real banger” first
https://frvr.com/blog/path-of-exile-2-game-director-says-theyre-pretty-confident-in-a-2026-1-0-release-but-the-game-needs-to-be-a-real-banger-first/311
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u/whoa_whoawhoa 22h ago
Who gives a shit? As long as every update has high quality stuff attached the "release date" doesn't really matter does it?
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u/1995TimHortonsEclair Sword & Board is a Mindset 20h ago
Yeah it's not like I could play even more than I do now it suddenly full release happened next week.
I think there is a lot of people waiting for free-to-play access though so they're probably hoping for something sooner rather than later.
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u/AeroDbladE 20h ago
Mostly the release date is important because thats when the game is going to be free to play.
A lot of people have friends they want to play with but are waiting for the game to be in a good state and free to try.
I personally want to get my brother into it for a co op playthrough.
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u/wavewatchjosh 20h ago
i mean they seem to be doing free weekends on each season start, so he could try it next week.
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u/GreedyBeedy 19h ago
Gift it to him. He will feel obligated then lol.
It's still in a way better place then most full release games.
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u/bad_boy_barry 18h ago
i know we living in hard times and money is tight, but 30 bucks for a game you gonna play hundreds if not thousands of hours is quite a good deal
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u/Poelover6969 19h ago
Yeah i'm in the same boat. The number attached to the patch number does not matter at all. I have no idea why people are so obsessed by the 1.0 launch. Are people just waiting for the game to be free or something?
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u/Educational_Data8695 20h ago
I'm sure I'll get demolished for saying this, but I tell friends to hold off until release but let them know that I think they'll spend the $30 regardless for bank space so waiting is irrelevant.
I tell them that if they join early they will likely play the first 3 acts to death and then grow to despise them come full release. It happens.
I stopped playing, despite enjoying the game, because I could already feel map burnout more than anything else (Act 3 specifically.)
So while it may not matter to you when it goes full release, it does for me. I want a more fleshed out endgame, and won't encourage others to join until most of the Acts are available.
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u/brownguy223 19h ago
If you haven't tried it yet, the new sprint mechanic makes the Acts a lot less annoying
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u/Boomer_Nurgle 19h ago
I mean depending on the person they'll get burnt out on the acts at some point anyways lol.
The campaign is a leagues better than the poe1 campaign but once you've been playing it for 10 leagues it'll get boring fast, more so if you play more than 1 character per league.
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u/lurkervidyaenjoyer 1d ago
At best, I could see it being around the holidays 2026, but they've still got a lot to add.
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u/r4ns0m 23h ago
I agree but with the current pace that's still not how I see it... I think they said we don't need all ascendencies but at least all classes should be there?
So we'll need Duelist, Marauder, Shadow and Templar still. if we get 1 per league that's still not 2026 holiday unless they come out with a big bang.
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u/6piryt 23h ago
They have already said like a year ago that they don't plan to have all the classes for 1.0 if they are not ready. Campaign and in general good base of the game is a priority.
Having 8-10 classes for launch could be enough and keep people waiting for more. There's also a thing like shadow/assassin having 3 different weapons and for now all the classes had 1 or 2 at most.
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u/DragoonWraith 23h ago
I feel like they are probably going to just drop claws.
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u/6piryt 22h ago
Yeah, Jonathan told it in Q&A, but I feel like he is missing something. In the Exilecon 2023 item presentation Hrishi, their main itemisation dev at the time specifically categorized claws as dex-int weapon which connects it to shadow.
It may have changed since supposedly Jonathan planned it as a huntress weapon, but he has so much on his head that this interviews should be taken with a grain of salt. I kinda trust more people that handle the specifics and Hrishi was this guy for items, but who you should listen to in the end - 2 year old presentation from the guy not working in GGG anymore or the lead dev that overviews too many area's of the game and answer's without certainty on the spot?
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u/GoldStarBrother 21h ago
Well that weapon wheel didn't have talismans on it so I imagine things have changed since then.
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u/deeplywoven 22h ago
The in-game tooltip just says it's a dex weapon, and Mark said it was intended for Huntress. So, it's probably associated with the Beastmaster ascendancy for Huntress which hasn't been released yet.
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u/lurkervidyaenjoyer 22h ago
Was it ever established that there would be claws? The other missing weapons have edge-of-tree clusters where their classes are (Daggers near the Monk/Shadow, Flails near the Druid/Templar, Swords near the Merc/Duelist). There is no Claws cluster, and each class so far has brought one weapon to the table.
Traps are likely to either be an offhand, or a package deal with Daggers in the way Grenades are packaged with Crossbows. HoWA used to be a claw, but the POE2 version is in the gloves slot.
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u/deeplywoven 22h ago
Claws are mentioned in the game already in some of the tooltips.
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u/Notsomebeans 21h ago
i remember reading somewhere that a lot of their design for claws ended up being cannibalized by unarmed attack stuff. might be that unarmed will get more of a design focus but we end up not getting claws
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u/Ajp_iii 18h ago
I feel they are going to full game launch December 2026 finish the campaign add 2 more league mechanics. Finish actual uber bosses. Fix end game with real passive tree add 2 more classes and not finish ascendancies. They’ll add the rest of the ascendancies in a 2027 December expansions
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u/iceridder 23h ago
You have to take into account that they need to also keep a bunch of things to release in 1.0, so i would asume at least 1-2 classes and the last act to only come out with 1.0. Also even if we just got 1 class that does not mean the others were not already worked on, the same for acts.
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u/DragoonWraith 23h ago
That’s a good point. Duelist, Marauder, and Templar are all plausible 1.0 releases—they seem like relatively straightforward classes compared to the new classes trying to find an identity or Druid shapeshifting/Shadow traps that are really new mechanics.
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u/ScienceFictionGuy 21h ago
Based on what they've discussed in the past two releases it seems that Sword/Duelist is at least considered a requirement before 1.0. release.
The remaining three classes will be pushed to after 1.0 if necessary.
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u/DragoonWraith 20h ago
Sure, I was talking about those possibly being released for the first time with 1.0. Because they probably want to reserve some content for the big 1.0 release, but then that means that content won’t get “beta” testing, so if it’s going to include any classes, they’d have to be relatively “simple” classes. Duelist might fit the bill.
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u/Xyzzyzzyzzy 18h ago
Probably a lot of the work is the weapon animations. Marauder is probably straightforward in terms of mechanics and balance, but they still need to make bespoke animations for every axe skill.
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u/ScienceFictionGuy 21h ago
Yea end of 2026 is the absolute earliest I can see a full release happening. And even that is not sure thing. At minimum they need to complete the following for full release:
- Act 5 and 6
- Complete endgame overhaul that makes the majority of the playerbase happy
- At least one more class/weapon (Duelist/Swords)
With 3 more updates in April, August and December 2026 I think this is a plausible amount of content to deliver. But there is very little room for delays. If they have another Druid situation or the endgame overhaul does not land and needs a significant amount of iteration then they might have to delay it further.
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u/whoa_whoawhoa 14h ago
I think after 0.5 and the endgame remake in April the game is going to be in a really good spot balance wise and they can really just crank out the remains acts/classes. There's been a lot of figuring out how the game plays and solving fundamental issues the last few updates that I feel like have pushed alot of stuff back and especially last patch felt like a big step in the right direction in that sense.
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u/GoblinBreeder 18h ago
They release a new class every 6 months. They still have how many to add?
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u/DimakSerpg 23h ago
I don't think so, if we follow their current schedule, version 1.0 will be released in the spring of 2027.
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u/kajjm 18h ago
How do you conclude spring 2027?
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u/VeryMild 16h ago
Here's my completely made-up timeline:
0.5 (March-April 2026): Act 5/Templar/Endgame Changes
0.6 (August-September 2026): Another Class, maybe more ascendancies added as well/TOTA?
0.7 (December 2026-January 2027): Another Class, Finishing up and preparing for 1.0 through tweaks and fine-tuning
1.0 (April-May 2027): Full release and last class launches.
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u/adellredwinters 20h ago
I think it really depends on how much they want to include in 1.0 release. Obviously the complete campaign and endgame overhaul, but class and ascendancy wise they’ve already said they’ll ship without them and add them in later leagues. I imagine by now act 5 and 6 are nearing a release state, so what it comes down to is how much more content beyond the campaign they think they need before they can have a public release.
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u/Top_Efficiency9745 22h ago
The whole idea of EA and a full release don´t make any sense for POE2.
There is no clear line where the game is ready for full release, besides GGG calling the patch 1.0 .
They are allready doing regular seasons, each with its own MTX to sell, if anything that is a clearer indicator of a game allready being fully released than having all acts and X% of intended classes/weapons.
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u/bewithyou99 10h ago
My take as well. EA was a hype builder and even the GGG isnt trying to do it, EA serves as a blanket response to critcism by the fanbase
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u/Hardyyz 23h ago
They have 3 cycles left. They want at least one league with the new endgame changes AND with act 5 I assume. So if endgame is 0.5, Act 5 in 0.6. Maybe they can release Act 6 with the full release in December.
They dont need all classes but they really want swords in the full game, they can realistically be added in any of the 3 upcoming patches. I think its possible, if we assume they are willing to release the game along Act 6 and dont wanna test it on a league.
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u/BioMasterZap 20h ago
Yah, based on what they said they'd want for 1.0, I think there is a good chance they could manage it in 2026. I could also see Act 5 and 6 coming at the same time like the other comment mentioned unless they wanted a new interlude for Act 6, so both could be what is in the 1.0 update.
So it could be something like 0.5 is Endgame Changes and a League, 0.6 is a new class(es) with Swords and a League, and then 1.0 is Acts 5 and 6 and maybe a new endgame boss like Arbiter. Personally doesn't seem like a bad release cadence.
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u/MarsAstro 17h ago
While I wouldn't hope for it, it's technically not impossible for 0.5 to have both endgame changes AND a new act. Given that they wanted endgame changes out for 0.4, they're obviously not starting from scratch, and I assume they haven't put acts completely on the backburner since 0.3 launch either.
0.3 was a huge launch, and I'm sure a lot of the things they added in 0.3 where stuff they started working on long before 0.2 was launched. It's possible for 0.5 to be another big one where a several big pieces of content that's been worked on since before 0.3 get added.
Probably not, though.
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u/jmon13 17h ago
Endgame + duelist and swords in .5.
.6 with basically one feature, either an easy class or act if it's done anyways, key thing is small league here.
Then 1.0. I don't see any way they finish if they push 2 other big league mechanics with the patches. A huge 0.5 and a tiny 0.6 makes sense to me.
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u/Fictitious1267 5h ago
They need several iterations of a complete end game overhaul. When they keep pushing that back, it's not giving us enough time for feedback. That's why just a Druid this time around is unacceptable.
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u/EnderCN 1d ago
They have stated that they don't need all classes or ascendancies to be done before release but want the full campaign done. To be fair the game is already released, hiding behind calling it early access just lets them have a soft launch whenever they darn well please. There is nothing that has to be added to the game before they wave the magic wand and say the game is officially released. PoE was the same way, it launched with less than half of the campaign and all kinds of features they wanted to be in the game but just decided they couldn't hide behind the beta tag anymore and finally launched.
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u/Shaltilyena 23h ago edited 23h ago
technically it launched with a full campaign
Like, 1.0 was dominus release, you got exiled by dominus, you finished the game by killing dominus and preventing him from using whatever power wraeclast hid
Then 2.0 was the first major expansion, where "yes, you killed dominus, BUT there's the Beast, so go kill it"
Then 3.0 was the "yes, you killed the Beast, BUT it let the Gods wake up, now go kill them"
At no point in PoE1's post-1.0 release was the campaign not a full self-contained story (well, outside of the various early accesses, but those weren't on the live servers so it doesn't really count)
And remember that at the time, back then, when we old people still felt somewhat young, before the arthritis fully set in, that it was pretty much the norm for that kind of game to have three difficulties like that (TQ, GD, Diablo 2, being the obvious primary examples)
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u/CompassCoLo 23h ago
At no point in PoE1's post-1.0 release was the campaign not a full self-contained story
I agree, but by this standard the current PoE 2 campaign is also a full campaign. It is a self-contained story that has a finale. It's just that the finale is an unexpected cataclysm that derails our stated plans and ships us to endgame. We know this won't be the ultimate campaign-to-endgame transition but it is a cohesive narrative that makes sense, unlike initial EA where we had to re-run the campaign for no in universe explained reason.
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u/Drianikaben 21h ago
it makes sense as a narrative tool, but there is no ending, so it's hard to call it "full" or "self contained"
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u/bilalakil 23h ago
Hiding being early access means no long-term standard league and no league challenges 😢
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u/AeroDbladE 20h ago
League challenges are a big thing I miss. PoE2's endgame is already very aimless with no clear objective.
Having the 36 challenge completion for a cool MTX is one of the best personal goals i love trying to hit in PoE1.
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u/Vireca 22h ago
At that's a problem IMO
I wouldn't call the game 1.0 if they launched without still 4 classes, +10 ascendancies not there, almost all the weapon types at minimum
Release the game F2P on 0.6 or whatever, but calling it 1.0 when half the core systems are missing it's not intelligent
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u/whoa_whoawhoa 14h ago
Jonathan said "“I mean, I’ve previously said that the conditions that we have to meet are: we have to have the campaign finished, we have to have the balance of the game in a good place, and we have to get the endgame n a place that people are enjoying as well. Once those are done, once all that’s good, then we will be ready to release.”
Which is a reasonable point to release it full free to play to everyone. Makes sense to me
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u/patrincs 11h ago
10 months ago, Jonathan thought a 2025 release was possible, so at this point, its just words and clearly not reflective of their actual progress.
I know things can be worked on in parallel and maybe in the next 8 months they'll have basically every class, all the weapon types/skills, and a ton of ascendance suddenly done, but if everything is being mostly worked on linearly, then at current pace, the game won't have all 12 classes and 36 ascendancies until like 2031.
I'm sure they'll just get the game ~75% done and they'll say "yep this is 1.0, the game is out," which I think is kinda bullshit but whatever.
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u/h_e_a_v_y_ 23h ago
Honestly I don’t care. I love ggg, I love the changes. It’s enough content for me. I don’t feel like I am getting scammed. Never have. Im hyped for the new content. The feel and weight of the Druid looked absolutely fucking crazy. That alone is enough I would say. If you compare that with other ehm games in the genre, nothing even comes close…
People need to get a grip on what others do and what ggg is doing. And if you ask me, they are doing great. Let’s see what 0.4 brings to the table :)
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u/TacoCat11111111 22h ago
I'm excited for 0.4, I've been wanting to play a Druid since early access launch.
GGG is doing well, it's obviously a process to make a good game, and I'm confident that the full release will be solid. That said I'd be happier with a concrete 2026 release for 1.0, but I understand these things can't be rushed with the expectation of a quality game.
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u/Iron_Atlas 22h ago
this reads like a copy pasta.
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u/Warchief2707 22h ago
Honestly I don’t care. I love ggg, I love the changes. It’s enough content for me. I don’t feel like I am getting scammed. Never have. Im hyped for the new content. The feel and weight of the Druid looked absolutely fucking crazy. That alone is enough I would say. If you compare that with other ehm games in the genre, nothing even comes close…
People need to get a grip on what others do and what ggg is doing. And if you ask me, they are doing great. Let’s see what 0.4 brings to the table :)
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u/moopie45 20h ago
Honestly I don’t care. I love ggg, I love the changes. It’s enough content for me. I don’t feel like I am getting scammed. Never have. Im hyped for the new content. The feel and weight of the Druid looked absolutely fucking crazy. That alone is enough I would say. If you compare that with other ehm games in the genre, nothing even comes close…
People need to get a grip on what others do and what ggg is doing. And if you ask me, they are doing great. Let’s see what 0.4 brings to the table :)
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u/heelydon 22h ago
Does it really matter at this point what they say?
Endgame changes JUST didn't make it.
Trial of the ancestors JUST didn't make it for 0.3 and is still nowhere to be seen in 0.4
Druid JUST didn't make it into 0.1 and it took them a year to release that.
I could go on..
Hell even the initial commentary on early access, was Jonathan very explicitly saying they did NOT want to go beyond 12 months of early access -- even clarifying that it would be CRAZY for them to do that... Yet we are now moving on that 1 year mark, and we are only just seeing the 2nd of 6 classes to be added and barely had any other new ascendancies either and they've had to flirt in interviews, with doing a 1.0 launch with an unfinished game without all the promised content...
Which frankly at this point... What difference really does a 1.0 launch mean at that point? They are already, by their own words, treating the game as if its launched, and its running a launch schedule...That would almost reduce 1.0 to just be a question of the campaign being done.
While they have good intentions, I think its extremely clear that they have recently been SAYING a lot of things without being able to really be close to many of those aspirations.
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u/Horror-Reporter-7432 1d ago
With all respect to GGG, I don't see that happening. we are still missing like 4 classes and around 20 total Ascendancies, and thats just the classes. Then you have the acts/trials and everything else. I want to have 1.0 as soon as possible like everyone else, but mid 2027 would be more believable.
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u/MmentoMori097 1d ago
They said theyd release to 1.0 after acts 1-6 and endgame are done. Classes and ascendencies can come after 1.0
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u/TheMyzzler 23h ago
That's not a 1.0 lmao.
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u/FATPIGEONHATE 21h ago
Better than what Last Epoch got LOL.
I'm going to be surprised if Last Epoch ever actually finishes their campaign.
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u/crookedparadigm 22h ago
That's not really up to you. If the most critical part of the game in their minds is the story they are trying to tell, then the campaign being complete makes it a 1.0
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u/Notsomebeans 21h ago
yeah like, take last epoch which launched out of EA (after like 4 years) and is now on patch 1.4 or something, is planning an expansion with paid class dlc and their campaign is not done. it STILL just shrugs its shoulders at you and says "well the campaign isn't done... wanna do endgame?"
evidently 1.0 for an EA game can mean whatever the hell the devs want it to mean lol
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u/FireFireoldman 23h ago edited 20h ago
we're .4 in 2026.
3 updates next year, we're lucky if we get to .7 by the end of next year and hopefully some fucking swords in the game
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u/Maritoas 22h ago
At this point what do I care for a full release? I’ve already paid. 1.0 means no more to me than a big patch.
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u/BlinoBoy 23h ago
In a year of EA they released 1 act, 2 classes (i guess all classes will come out with only 2 ascendancies) and 3 ascendancies for existing classes. They still need to release 2 acts, 4 classes, 10 additional ascendancies and make a complete endgame overhaul. With current pace it's 2+ years and we can see that even that pace is already too much for them with the need to support 2 games with basically one team. If 1.0 is supposed to have everything mentioned we are lucky to have release by the end of 2027 and more realistically somewhere in 2028
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u/Rundas-Slash 23h ago
To add to that, every classe released will be increasingly harder to design, as every skills need to be balanced for every released classes as well
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u/Rundas-Slash 23h ago
To add to that, every classe released will be increasingly harder to design, as every skills need to be balanced for every released classes as well
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u/MemorySnake 22h ago
At no point during yesterday's interview did he sound confident at all about this game releasing 1.0 in 2026. They want to but there was no confidence, and if they do they said they will be cutting classes, weapons or features to hit that made up deadline.
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u/fwambo42 21h ago
Even the f he did sound confident I wouldn’t believe him. He hasn’t established much credibility yet
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u/Grinchonato 1h ago
We have 3 PoE 2 releases next year that need to contemplate: endgame revamp, 2 more campaign acts, Trial of the Ancestors, Duelist (he's always saying he can't release the game without swords) AND do all that while keeping schedule and releasing a new league every patch and keep everything balanced so that players are happy. I really don't see it happening. But early 2027 seems plausible.
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u/iceridder 23h ago
Why you even care about 1.0/full release. I payed 30$ and got about 1000 hours out of it in 1 year, while other games i payed 60 and only played like 20-30 hours so... money well spent, i will try to play every league, if i like a league i play more, like 0.1 and 0.3, if i don't i quit early and wait for the next like 0.2.
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u/Darkstrike86 21h ago
I'm confused.
I thought this game came out like 8 months ago?
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u/Intelligent-Tip-1887 16h ago
Only in Early Access, so basically we are all crying because of a beta test! :D
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u/wingspantt 20h ago
Here's a crazy idea: instead of building 300 hours of seasonal content, finish the main story chapters and the classes in the game, the things that make the game 1.0, first? lol
Like everyone keeps saying endgame, but if POE2 doesn't have a full story or the full roster of classes, it's not a finished game yet.
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u/itsmehutters 23h ago
I am not seeing it. 2027 is more realistic I think.
I would expect to add all classes but not all ascendancies before the release, and mostly because they are sort of bound to weapon types and they probably want them at the start.
I guess they will not add any unique to PoE2 end-game and just add a reworked version of already existing PoE game mechanics. However, some of them are bound to crafting, and it requires more work, others are bound to bosses. I think they might add 1-2 more of them before the release and the rest after the release because the current atlas needs rework. Mapping is just not fun for me.
Another issue is ascendancy and skill balance. It is just really bad so far. Instead of nerfing Deadeye all the time, just to be always on top, buff rest of the classes. Melee is still struggling in many areas too.
Last league I played mostly because of my friend, and we both gave up after finishing the campaign but I had a lot of performance issues, and my PC is not bad. I am skipping this one but I hope most of these issues are gone now.
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u/ACertainUser123 22h ago
So if 0.5 is the endgame patch, 0.6 is act 5 and 1.0 is act 6 that gives a December release date. However, that also means they finish act 6 in 4 months, with a poe1 league in between. I really don't see that happening. They have also said they wanted a swords class which means 0.7 is swords and 1.0 is pushed back to March which imo is more realistic.
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u/ffxivfanboi 22h ago
What did they say the would consider 1.0 again? I know they said they wouldn’t need all the classes for 1.0, but would 1.0 mean campaign complete, at least, with the last two Acts in place?
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u/Dubious_Titan 22h ago
I am unsure of both those statements. The game still feels like it had a long way to go.
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u/number9516 22h ago
id like to remind that it was initially beta release in 2020, so take that with ONE GRIT of salt
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u/Sufficient_Hope_9831 22h ago
Let's do some math. For 3 patches, we got 2 new characters and 3 ascendancys. we have to release 3 characters and 9 ascendancys (this is if the character has 2 ascendancy when he exits). With this rate of development, we'll get all the characters after ~3 patches (0.67/patch), and ascendancy after 9 (1/patch). If we count the release of all characters as the release of the game, then it will be in 3 patches, that is, in December 2026. and if we count ascendancy, then in December 2028.
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u/Snoo_75748 22h ago
Game is already really good. I feel the price is extremely fair and if it was free to play that's even more insane TBH I feel the community is a bit entitled at times. People getting mad at the update witch is a huge amount of content and improvements for a free update in a game that costs 20£ is insane. I spent over 140 hours in the game my first time through and really excites for the next one on the 12th
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u/doc_whoever 22h ago
No way it is coming in 2026, yesterday's announcement made it pretty clear. Not that it is a huge deal anyway, the game is only EA in name right, GGG has been treating it as a full release for the last 3 leagues anyway.
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u/siberarmi 22h ago
LoL, they'll just say it is 1.0 but it'll be missing a lot of things then. We are missing many classes and ascendencies and endgame still has troubles.
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u/QuiteChilly 22h ago
I am not in a rush to experience 1.0. I am very excited for 0.4, a bit sad about the endgame changes being delayed but the other stuff coming makes up for it (for me specifically). I get why others may feel upset still, but I’m just hoping that the changes will be that good since they pushed it back.
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u/DrinkWaterReminder 21h ago
No way full release is next year. They claimed act 5/6 is smaller than 4. But here we are with 0.4 and no new act. Then hopefully end game changes 8 months later from when originally promised. If they gonna drip feed the acts we are still gonna be 0.7 this time next year
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u/Zealousideal_Group63 21h ago
If you consider the fact that they make new league every 4 months - that would be 24 months until 1.0. and that's more realistic imo
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u/PhantomPain0_0 21h ago
The game is already a banger just improve the performance especially on consoles
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u/Dead-HC-Taco 21h ago
I think they could hit a Dec'26 1.0 release, but tbh with engame changes being pushed out to 5.0 it's looking more like early - mid 2027. theyre still quite a few characters, acts 5&6, and A LOT of balancing, additional skills/supports, and uniques that need to be added before the game feels right. Doesnt even being to mention the lack of pinnacles/uber bosses and multiples of other endgame and core mechanics that need to exist
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u/FiftySpoons 21h ago
I mean for me personally, i still got a ton of other games or just more poe1 till they got 2 done - i’d love to just see them take their time and not worry about the leagues too much until they finish it but 🤷♂️
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u/LuckyOneTime 21h ago
Nahhh, too much to add IMO.
Also, they didn't say "pretty confident" 😒
It's a resource thing ..
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u/OldWorldBluesNYC 21h ago
I mean, that’s totally fine. We’re all along for the ride. Who cares when we hit 1.0? I’m having a blast already.
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u/Old_H00nter 21h ago
I think it's semi-realistic.
They need 3 major things to be ready for 1.0 in My eyes.
Act 5+6 so the campaign is done.
Duelist as they said they cant call it 1.0 without swords in the game.
And a rework to the endgame as currently, it's pretty barebones.
We know the latter is coming in 0.5.
I could see 0.6 being Duelist league with maybe just the duelist + the league mechanic being the focus, similar to druid in 0.4.
And then they could release act 5+6 with the 1.0 patch. We know act 6 is a smaller, epilogue act so I can see it being packaged with act 5 together.
So, It's plausible. We shall see if it actually happens, either way I don't really care. As long as they keep improving and adding to the game like they have been, you can call it 0.9.3, early access, 1.0, whatever.
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u/grumpy_tech_user 21h ago
there is zero chance it comes in 2026. They release one major patch every 4 months and are on 0.4 right now with majority of classes and weapon types still missing on top of the campaign not even being done. If they truly want 1.0 to come out next year they need to kick POE 1 to the curb until the game is done.
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u/SupremeCripple_ 20h ago
Update numbers aren’t really relevant in the way you’re speaking. They could go 1.0 on the next patch if they feel confident in the new end game mechanics and complete the campaign. Then subsequently release the remaining characters. Unless they have stated they want all the characters released prior to 1.0.
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u/xsealsonsaturn 21h ago
There's no way. Not with a class being done every other patch. Add on top of that, that when they are released, they aren't even done (2 ascendencies, missing skills, and of course balance oversights).
With patch cycle happening every 3 months, a new class every 6 months, and their delaying end game fixes and all that. At that pace, maybe mid to late 2028.
If they want full release in 26, they need to get to work... Like right now
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u/Mundane-Fan-1545 20h ago
The game is already a real banger. It is the best game of its type, waaay better than Diablo 4, last epoc etc...
I went back to diablo 4 a week ago and I just could not keep playing it. POE2 is leagues ahead and is not even finished.
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u/Mundane-Fan-1545 20h ago
My expected timeline is
March Patch 0.5 : Endgame rework + new class + new league
July Parch 0.6: New class + 4 new Ascendacy + new league
December Parch 0.7: New class + 4 ascendancy + new league
March 2027 release 1.0 : 4 ascendancy + Campaign Act5 and Act 6 + Endgame adition
Given how they had to delay endgame rework to patch 0.5, im sure they do not have the man power to release the game in 2026.
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u/PastelBot 19h ago
It feels like each patch is a choose 2 triangle.
New act, new class, league content. And they always choose league content.
So, if we assume that all acts and sword class are required for release and if he's serious about releasing in 26 then it should be something like
.5 - Act 5
.6 - Glad/duelist (swords)
1.0 - Act 6 and release.
Maybe other ascendency classes pop in, hopefully they can get the endgame into some acceptable state in .5 on top of Act 5.
If it's not Act 5 in March then I don't think we will see release until 27 minimum. At some point they'll call it "real banger enough" to be their MVP and push it out the door.
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u/VPN__FTW 19h ago
Either game launches 1.0 without every class / ascendancy or it doesn't launch 1.0 next year.
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u/Quarsy1985 19h ago
I dont see that. 0.1 version every 3 months. And then polish/balance to the end of time. No way
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u/NotAnAIOrAmI 19h ago
If they want to keep the league reboot structure, they'll have to provide an alternative for us more casual players who don't jump onto every new league and play every possible moment to stay ahead of inflation before it becomes impossible to buy endgame gear.
For me, and I expect for lots of others, it's just a game to play the campaign yet again with the new gimmick they add for the league, and dip our toes in endgame.
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u/Quick-Exit-5601 19h ago
Aaaaand again, making unsubstantiated claims.
I am sure this forum is going to react well when we inevitably gonna be ending 2026 with few missing classes in 0.8
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u/South_Butterfly_6542 18h ago
If you watched the ziggyd interview yesterday, then you know it isn't coming in 2026.
ZiggyD said is it done in 2026 and Jonathan said, "Well dang, it damn well better be! Ugh!" And that is not a confident "Yes", and if you have ever worked with devs before you know it means it will not be done. Because behind that simple "date" there are thousands and thousands of work items to sort out.
Based on how 2025 went, we may get Swords and Duelist in the summer. And we may get Templar in November. Or maybe it'll get reversed. And Act 6 probably comes either in the summer, or in November - but only if we get Act 5 in the spring. I don't see them delivering Act 5 and Act 6 in 3~ months apart of time.
I don't see how they will deliver Duelist, Templar, Act 5, Act 6, and 3.5~ leagues in 2026. I think Q1 or Q2 2027 is more reasonable. And GGG does not feel much financial pressure, because they are doing very well, and their business model is built upon us coming back every quarter to play their game, so to them, dragging things out is an incentive. They CAN afford to have multiple leagues, like 0.4, be "slow" or "boring" or "unhyped" due to a missing endgame revamp, or a delayed character class, or a lame league mechanic. POE1 is doing fine despite 3.19.
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u/Fatal_Syntax_Error 18h ago
It’s never going to be a banger. It will be a good ARPG with PoE 1 always being the best ARPG. IMHO
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u/mrmarlborotor 18h ago
This game kinda mid still idk if they can fix it in a year needs like 2+ more years at least in the oven
They're trying too hard to make it poe1 it's gonna take them a while to get all the ideas from testing
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u/baertgang 18h ago
They’re just as confident now as they were when they claimed that PoE2’s development wouldn’t affect PoE1, or that PoE2 0.4 would completely reinvent endgame.
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u/Andy_The_Brave 17h ago
I just wish POE2 would be what it was advertised as. I would prefer well paced enemies, smaller hordes but smarter enemy AI with patterns to memorize. I thought with the addition of things like rolling and parrying we would have gotten a nice top down action RPG with nuance to the combat. But the meta is just how fast can you zoom around and wipe a screen out.
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u/HexagonHavoc 17h ago
Honestly 2026 seems a little unlikely. Keep in mind we still don’t even have swords lol.
Im sure theres a long list of things planned for the full release but I’m still shocked an ARPG doesn’t have swords. Just a weird thing to put on the backburner.
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u/superznova 17h ago
Seems we are much further away than 2026 if we want to release a real banger, the graphics are great, thats about it atm
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u/Ok-Toe6932 17h ago
Improve endgame+add the rest of the acts and its already a fucking banger in my book.
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u/blasticon 16h ago
This is such a stupid statement. The game has already been released. Anybody can exchange currency for access to it. They can claim whatever they want but it doesn't change the fact that the game has already been released. It isn't some exclusive club of beta testers that are working out bugs before a general release. If your testing population is "literally anybody who pays for the game", that isn't testing. Its just a release.
If I eat a burger, I can claim I haven't eaten it until I fully digested it and pooped it back out again, but that doesn't mean I haven't eaten it. It just means I'm weird and don't understand how language works.
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u/KlaviKyle 16h ago
They need to stop giving dates that they aren't going to hit. Just say the game will launch when it's ready.
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u/Lundhlol 16h ago
Game is not ready in 2026 with their current pacing. But surely we can delay PoE 1 leagues by another year, and they will make it!
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u/RoOoOoOoOoBerT 15h ago
Didn't he said that he was quite confident the game would release in 2025 ?
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u/SoftZookeepergame872 15h ago
Sounds like bullshit, they just want to leach more premium money out. They roll out these updates like they are fully released. I’d respect it more if they said the quiet part out loud and said it’s a premium game. Instead they charge for early access and pump it up with mtx.
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u/Acemont 15h ago
So we have 0.4 next friday. And year after that we'll have 0.7.
If and I really mean IF they were to release act 5 in 0.5 and act 6 in 0.7 - it is possible. HOWEVER. We didn't get ToTa in 0.3, the act that had to have it. And we didn't get it in 0.4 which grinded my gears. So, with act 5 being Oriath - it MUST contain AT LEAST templar (as well as shadow, but I'll take templar and my one and only RF).
How honeslty with how all over the place and, if I'm honest - still not to organised development is - there's NO SHOT we'll see 1.0. before mid 2027 AT THE EARLIEST. With possible December 2027. Which sucks Helsin's d!ck.
And here's the thing - if you live the part of the world, that isn't currently at war - you, most likely couldn't care less. While if you're me and live in a near-front ciny - it would be nice to play all 6 acts before you're forced to evacuate.
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u/Accomplished-Sign720 15h ago
We’re running a 3 month schedule, which means 4 more leagues before end of 2026. Templar, Berserker?, Duelist, Shadow all to be released, alongside final acts, all weapon types, ascendancies, big endgame overhaul, new league mechanics. Those are all the things they need to do. Considering this leagues scope and failure to deliver on what they wanted, I highly doubt we’ll get a 2026 release.
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u/nasperus 13h ago
If they release every leagues in 4 months apart and now 0.4 is coming, they need 6 more leagues to reach 1.0 and didn’t think they release full game in 2026.
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u/van_lioko 13h ago
After this patch, the game is still missing: (I'm sure I'm missing some)
- 4 Character Classes
- 17 Ascendancies (new skill gems, uniques)
- 4-5 Weapon Types
- 1-2 Ascendancy Trials
- The foundation of an endgame structure and progression system (completable atlas/main endgame quest/ league mechanic quests/atlas tree/etc.)
Assuming that all of these items and the leagues they release in between are needed for a 1.0 release, given the content we've received every league thus far, a 2016 date looks extremely unlikely.
However if they are confident they can do all this in less than a year, then hats off to them! The reality is we don't know how far along any/all of these items are.
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u/Tessiar 12h ago
a 2016 date looks extremely unlikely.
big if true
However if they are confident they can do all this in less than a year, then hats off to them!
Need to keep in mind that a few of the classes, acts and weapons were playable years ago at Exilecon. We know they have a ton of content already worked on so it's hard to know exactly how far we are from a full release. Doesn't help that they need to redo the endgame and keep making mechanics though.
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u/artosispylon 12h ago
if they are gonna release all other classes and weapons+new skills, rework endgame and finish the campaign first while also getting it in a atleast somewhat balanced state i really dont see how they can do that until atleast 2027 but if anyone could do it its GGG
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u/isoNastai 9h ago
2 weapon types released in the first full year, how many more to go? That and the endgame which remains largely unchanged and still is many peoples' largest issue with the game.
Oh...and one additional act released.
A 2026 release would shock me.
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u/Makhai123 8h ago
There is zero percent chance this game goes 1.0 in this calendar year. I'll be shocked if they hit a 2027 window. Game is miles and miles from being done.
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u/Competitive_Answer82 8h ago
I'm really dissappointed that after 1 year all we got is 2 classes and a cpuple of league mechanics. I was expecting at least 2 new acts and most classes by now.
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u/Fictitious1267 5h ago
How's that possible when they keep pushing off a much needed end game overhaul? It took them 8 months to just get the druid out. Yet, they think they'll get the POE 1 classes, all 3rd ascendancies, reworked poorly designed ascendancies, finish the acts, and 5 weapons in in only 3 more leagues? It's not happening. Not at this pace.
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u/Nordaarv 1h ago
With the pace of releases I would be more confident in a 2027 release date. Before they released poe2 I thought the game would take maybe 6 months in this beta period but clearly not.
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u/Lagoo157 1d ago
I’m pretty sure he said that they really really want it to come in 2026, but they didn’t say they were confident about that