Grinding Gear Games said Path of Exile 2 will remain in early access into 2026, abandoning earlier hopes of a full 2025 launch. Director Jonathan Rogers told reporters the title still needs a finished campaign and stable game balance before it can reach version 1.0, adding that March 2026 is the earliest realistic window. To maintain momentum, the studio will release its largest expansion yet on 29 August. Dubbed The Third Edict (version 0.3.0), the update adds Act IV—a non-linear archipelago featuring eight islands, 16 new areas, 12 bosses and more than 100 fresh monster types—and removes the need to replay earlier acts by inserting three temporary interlude chapters. The patch also introduces Path of Exile 2’s first seasonal league, Rise of the Abyssal; a fully asynchronous trading system that lets players buy and sell gear while the seller is offline; a universal sprint ability; and an extensive overhaul of Support Gems and class balance. Although no new character class is included, every existing class receives substantial buffs. Rogers said recent server disruptions stemmed from continuous distributed-denial-of-service attacks. The company has switched hosting providers and added DDOS protection, which it expects will stabilise service ahead of the update. A free-to-play weekend will coincide with the patch from 29 August to 1 September.