Path of Exile 2 Was Just Announced

I didn’t get the opportunity to go to nor watch the ExileCon event, but I was nevertheless filled with excitement when I heard the announcement of Path of Exile 2 after the event was over.
I’m sure every fan of Path of Exile was ecstatic at the news of an entirely new game – or, rather, expansion to the current game.
Yes, it’s not an entirely new game as some of us believed it would be, but instead, Path of Exile 2 will be a mega-expansion, reworking the entire game instead of producing a brand new game and alienating the current playerbase.
This is an interesting route to take, honestly. With two games, they could potentially earn more money, could dominate more of the market, but at the expense of separating part of the community they’ve spent so long building.
So while this could potentially mean more money down the line, it looks like they’re instead opting to improve on the game everyone already loves, providing not only a brand new story, but altered versions of their characters, introducing new features into the game, and even a mobile spin-off called Path of Exile Mobile, which I did a video on on the mobile channel.. you know, if you’re interested.

“One game, two campaigns.” One of the phrases uttered in reference to the new campaign introduced into the game with the 4.0 expansion.
The update will be introducing a new 7-act storyline allowing players to choose between the original story that you’ve been able to play through thus far, and the brand new story that takes place 20 years in the future.
Interestingly, the game will share the same client; it’ll be the same base game but also simultaneously offer variations of characters and the world you play in, along with share the same endgame.
Path of Exile 1 will feature the characters you currently know, while Path of Exile 2’s characters will be from the future – and their Ascendancies, along with the visuals associated with them will be different.
Yup, while the base game will function more or less the same as what you’re used to, Path of Exile 2 will technically use the same “class archetypes,” but you’ll need to create a brand new character and select from 19 new Ascendancy classes that differ quite a lot from the former game.
Although that doesn’t mean Path of Exile’s classes will be changed entirely – no, there will be reworks of all 7 classes in-game currently playable. “But I like my class,” Well, for games to grow and evolve, change is necessary.
Grinding Gear Games believe that a rework of each class mechanically is a good idea, so honestly we’re gonna have to wait and see where the dice lands, but I’m hopeful they’ll do right by their players.
Fortunately for players, all cosmetic items earned will carry on over to Path of Exile 2. Additionally, the sequel will be completely overhauling many of the game’s core systems.

One of which is a much needed graphical overhaul.
Well, I say “much needed,” but honestly, the game still looks pretty good from what I played of it but with Diablo 4 coming up, Lost Ark’s potential release one day, and the news on Project TL, it might be in Path of Exile’s best interest to provide a small update in terms of graphical prowess.
Grinding Gear Games are focusing on adding physics-based rendering. An example given was in the form of arrows.
In the future, their goal is to have them bounce off of various surfaces, while sticking to others depending on what the surface is made of, providing more of a sense of realism to the game.

Grinding Gear Games have made it abundantly clear that they have no plans on releasing the game in the immediate future – going on to state that they have no ETA on the release.
“We’re unlikely to start a beta until at least very late 2020,” they state on their website. However, in the meantime, the game is still expected to continue with their trimonthly expansions – pushing out 4 new expansions over the course of 2020.
Whether one of those expansions in question is in fact the large Path of Exile 2 expansion is currently unknown, but nevertheless, Path of Exile will continue being developed and will continue to have additional content added while paving the way for Path of Exile 2 to begin.

Additionally, I’d like to point out that Path of Exile Mobile was announced at ExileCon as well. I know I mentioned it earlier, but I felt the need to include the information here as well.
I know a lotta you guys aren’t really mobile gamers, and trust me, I understand. I do. Nevertheless, Grinding Gear Games have plans on expanding further and further – reaching all new heights as they attempt world domination.. one release at a time.
Now, not much in the way of Path of Exile Mobile has been revealed thus far, with the exception of a few little tidbits and a small trailer, but what we do know is that they’re currently using an experimental version of the Atlas of Worlds system.
Well, that and the fact that Grinding Gear Games have acknowledged that a lot of mobile games are heavily pay to win.
Thus in an attempt to quell potential player concern, they made certain to repeatedly reiterate that the game, once launched onto mobile devices will not only be completely free of pay to win elements, but also be developed in-house.
This may or may not be a jab at Blizzard who announced a little while back that Diablo Immortal would be developed by a Chinese company and in doing so showed their flippant disregard of their players.
With the knowledge of what to avoid, and the success of Path of Exile and the anticipation of Path of Exile 2 – let’s hope Grinding Gear Games manages to come out 3 for 3.

And now you’re pretty much caught up.
Path of Exile 2 is in the works. It’ll release potentially in 2020, but 2021 is much more likely.
It is a direct sequel to Path of Exile, but at the same time it’s going to take place in the same client – and overhaul the entire engine while introducing new features, and providing a brand new experience for players.
Path of Exile Mobile is expected sometime in the near future, and Grinding Gear Games are aware of the stigma surrounding mobile games so they’re making every effort to create something out of the ordinary for the platform.
And all of this while simultaneously producing new content for the base Path of Exile game.
Yes, this is an ambitious undertaking. Grinding Gear Games have a lot in the works, maybe too much, even. Nevertheless, I’m very excited to see where this goes and to see what they do with all of the games currently being worked on.
I’m a fan of Path of Exile, even if I’ve never really had too much of an opportunity to push too thoroughly through it.