PoE Sanity

POE 2 Delay Confirmed (29-May Launch With Early News). POE1 Private League Soon - Path of Exile

By sirgogWatch videoDuration: PT6M11S

Summary

  • Path of Exile 2 Expansion 0.5.0 Delay: The upcoming expansion, titled Return of the Ancients, has been delayed by three weeks.
  • New Schedule: GGG Live is now set for May 7 (USA)/May 8 (Australia), with the league launch scheduled for May 29/30.
  • Strategic Reasoning: The delay aims to allow more time for marketing to lapsed players and to avoid a direct launch conflict with a major Diablo 4 update on April 28.
  • Unprecedented Timeline: Unlike the traditional eight-day gap between the livestream and launch, this update features a 22-day waiting period.
  • PoE 1 Interim Event: A community private league for Path of Exile 1 will be hosted to fill the gap before the PoE 2 launch.

Path of Exile 2 Expansion 0.5.0 Delay

Grinding Gear Games has officially delayed the 0.5.0 expansion for Path of Exile 2, titled Return of the Ancients. The original expectations placed the livestream announcement on April 30 and the league start on May 8.

The revised schedule is as follows:

  • GGG Live Announcement: May 7 (USA) / May 8 (Australia).
  • Expansion Launch: May 29 (USA) / May 30 (Australia).

This 22-day gap between the announcement and the launch is highly unusual. Historically, Grinding Gear Games has maintained an eight-day window between the livestream and the league start. The only notable exception occurred when an event was moved by a single day to avoid clashing with the launch of Last Epoch.

Reasons for the Postponement

Two primary factors contributed to the decision to push back the release:

  1. Marketing and Outreach: The April 30 date did not allow sufficient time for teasers to build momentum. Effective marketing requires reaching beyond “superfans” to lapsed and prospective players. Providing more lead time allows enfranchised players to “evangelize” the game to their social circles, ensuring news of the expansion spreads effectively.
  2. Competition with Diablo 4: A major expansion for Diablo 4 is scheduled for release on April 28. Launching the GGG Live event around the same time would risk the news being overshadowed. Regardless of whether the Diablo 4 update is a success or a failure, the resulting “noise” in the ARPG community would likely bury Path of Exile news.

Teaser Analysis: Return of the Ancients

A brief teaser video for the expansion features a massive tower rising from the ground. While it lacks specific mechanical details, the scale of the structure is significant:

  • The tower appears to be approximately 10 kilometers tall.
  • The visual style is reminiscent of the “Burning Monolith” seen in previous Path of Exile 2 footage.
  • It does not appear to be related to existing tower mechanics from previous games.

Path of Exile 1 Private League Plans

To fill the three-week interim, I will host a Path of Exile 1 private league. The league is intended to run for approximately 20 days leading up to the PoE 2 expansion.

League Configuration:

  • Start Time: Saturday lunchtime (Australian time), which is approximately six hours later than a standard league start.
  • Ruleset: A fresh economy with very minor difficulty modifiers.

Estimated Start Times (Friday/Saturday):

  1. Standard 2:00 PM Friday starts: This league will start at approximately 8:00 PM Friday.
  2. Standard 2:00 AM Saturday starts: This league will start at approximately 8:00 AM Saturday.
  3. Standard 6:00 AM Saturday starts: This league will start at approximately 12:00 PM (Midday) Saturday.

Further discussion and coordination regarding the private league will take place on Discord.

Key References