Path of Exile 2 Early Access is expected to be released in November 2024 and will closely follow the “Closed Beta” access models for past Path of Exile launches. This information, although not official, has been consistent with many of GGG’s official sources. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on the latest changes in this game’s public testing phase.
Will Path of Exile 2 have a Closed or Open Beta:
Initially called Closed Beta, GGG has recently renamed it to Early Access. Regardless, it will most likely be a Closed Beta type of access.
If you have had your hopes up on Path of Exile 2 introducing an Open Beta, chances are, it won’t be. Although we can only wait to see what will happen, official sources have never mentioned or alluded to any evidence that it could be an Open Beta. In fact, until recently renamed as Early Access, Path of Exile 2 was always marketed as having Closed Beta consistently until now.
Then why change it to Early Access? According to GGG’s co-founder Jonathan Rogers, the decision to rename it to “Early Access” was put forward by GGG’s marketing department. With this in mind, we could speculate that by using the more general term of Early Access instead of Closed or Open Beta, GGG will have more freedom as to how they can structure Beta Testing. Having said that, at no point did GGG entertain us with an Open Beta prospect, so also keep that in mind.
During ExileCon 2023 interview with Jonathan Rogers, he confirmed that access to the upcoming Path of Exile 2 testing will likely follow a similar pattern to previous betas, with content creators and high-paying players gaining exclusive access.
Additionally, the beta for Path of Exile is expected to be nearing completion with its progression might carry over to the full release and could be a more permanent testing phase. Jonathan went on to mention that there will probably be wipes during the beta, but when the release comes they’re trying to preserve the beta characters in a separate beta-only standard league.
Path of Exile 2 Early Acess Release Date
According to the latest interview with GGG's Console Director Trevor Gamon, Path of Exile 2 Early Access will be released in November 2024.
Although being more of a slip up than an official statement, this piece of information is the closest to a confirmation that we have on POE 2’s Early Access launch date. Adding to the credibility of this information is the fact that it will also line up well with Path of Exile Path 3.25 release date of July 26th and is anticipated to end by November 2024. It is very unlikely for GGG to overlap POE 2 public testing with a POE league, hence it can be reasonably conceived that Path of Exile 2 Early Access will start at the end of Path of Exile league 3.25 in November.
This method will ensure the maximum amount of players for the POE 2 early-access launch and a window of up to a month to gather feedback on any significant technical issues with the game before Christmas break.
Furthermore, Mr. Gamon confirmed that Path of Exile 2 Early Access will be available for both PC and Console to ensure testing for the new cross-play and cross-progression system.
How to participate in Path of Exile 2 Early Access:
It has been repeated time and again that Path of Exile 2 Early Access will follow a Closed Beta model as per the previous Betas from GGG.
Please register your email for Path of Exile 2 Closed Beta signup at the official Path of Exile 2 website for a chance to participate in the event
On this note, let’s take a look at the outdated announcement from GGG regarding a previous Beta access. According to past precedences, access for a closed Beta from GGG will most likely follow this model:
Fall of Oriath Beta FaQ.
- New Supporter Packs that can be purchased by player to be granted a key.
- A top tier supporter pack purchased by player in the past will grant a key.
- Lifetime purchases by player amounting to over $500 will grant a key.
- Random group of players (around 500) will be granted a key everyday.
- A number of Content Creators such as Streamers, Youtuber and various Gaming outlet will be granted a key.
Another possibility is that GGG will also let people participate in the Early Access based on the amount of time played, if they have not already fallen into the above categories. If this were to be true, a fixed amount of accounts in the descending order of most time played would have a chance to play the game earlier than most.
Additionally, if past events are to be followed, it is also a possibility that GGG will eventually end the closed beta and start an open beta, which would be open to everyone with an account in good standing.
