Grinding Gear Games used ExileCon 2026 to outline two major updates for its action RPG series. Path of Exile 2 is scheduled to reach its full release on 11 December 2026 (Pacific time), while the original Path of Exile will receive the Covens of Umbra expansion on 13 November.
These are two separate releases, and they offer rather different reasons to return to Wraeclast.
Path of Exile 2: the campaign reaches its conclusion
According to the developer’s announcement, the December release completes the main campaign with Acts 5 and 6, adding 24 areas, 18 unique bosses and more than 20 special encounters. The studio says the full release will feature ten playable classes, 26 Ascendancy classes, more than 320 skills and over 150 endgame maps.
The new Shadow class focuses on stealth, daggers and traps. The Duelist also gains the Knight Ascendancy. Grinding Gear Games is promising substantial skill and passive-tree changes alongside more than 40 new Unique items and revisions to over 70 existing ones.
Conquerors of Wraeclast brings armies to the endgame
The accompanying Conquerors of Wraeclast league turns the attention from individual encounters to territorial conflict. Players will recruit armies, build fortresses and conduct sieges against rival factions, according to the press materials. How that plays alongside the established action-RPG combat is one of the more interesting questions ahead of launch.
Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra lands first
The original game gets its own substantial update on 13 November. The Coven Queen’s followers have established rituals across Wraeclast, and encounters can reward players with Fates used to make subsequent boss fights harder in return for richer rewards.
Bosses defeated under these conditions also feed into the new Wickerman system. Players can collect more than 120 types of Viscera, equipping up to four at once for build bonuses. Even pinnacle bosses receive more dangerous variants through persistent Grim Fates.
Scarabs out, Threads of Creation in
Arguably the biggest mechanical shake-up is to the Atlas endgame. Threads of Creation replace Scarabs, letting players invest into specific league mechanics. The developer says players can assign up to eight Threads to a mechanic, unlock three Map Device slots and retain their configurations between maps.
The Atlas Passive Tree has been rebuilt, with changes to established league content such as Blight, Ritual, Ultimatum and Expedition. The studio is also adjusting how valuable loot drops and how Item Rarity affects currency, gems and other rewards.
For long-term players, the significance is less about one new boss or league than about the systems that determine what they spend their endgame hours doing. We’ll be looking particularly closely at whether the changes make customising maps less cumbersome.
Reporting and artwork: Grinding Gear Games’ official ExileCon 2026 publisher showcase, Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra and Path of Exile 2. Dates are given in Pacific time as supplied by the developer. This is announcement coverage, not a hands-on review; release timing and final features may change.