Path of Exile 2 Beta is Far Away, but We'll Get the Whole Game and for Long
The Path of Exile 2 beta has been significantly delayed. However, it is worth being patient, as the developers will enable players to test the entire game for months.
Hack'n'slash fans will have to wait a long time before they can check out the new game from Grinding Gear Games. Closed beta tests of Path of Exile 2 will launch on June 7, 2024. The information was revealed last week on the occasion of ExileCon 2023. Jonathan Rogers, director of the second Path of Exile, has also given interviews to a number of editors.
In addition to the date, the creator provided a lot of other information - including one that is a small consolation for those who are worried about the distant start date of the already heavily delayed testing. The beta will not only last for "months," but will also enable us to check out all the content of Path of Exile 2 (i.e. all six acts, not just one, like Diablo IV).
In an interview with IGN it was mentioned that the tests are expected to last at least as long as one cycle of leagues in the first PoE. Usually this is at least a dozen weeks, so players will get enough time to check out most of the attractions offered by the sequel (if not even all of them).
Making the entire game available for beta testing is an unusual procedure, but the developers have a compelling reason for it. The developer wants to have a "good beta" to best balance the gameplay for the release of Path of Exile 2so as not to annoy fans with patches later on. After all, as Rogers stated, players are reluctant to see changes - especially "downward" (read: weakening or nerfs):
"I think you have to make sure that you have the right balance [of gameplay - editor's note] at launch, because once you have something done a certain way, players are very reluctant to try to change it, especially downward. That's why we have to make sure we get a good beta that tells us everything we need to know about the balance."
Of course, what is balanced in the first act of the game, may turn out to be too strong or too weak in the middle or at the end of the game. Hence the decision to include the entire game in the beta and to give the players "months" to explore and experiment. Rogers said the same in an interview with Eurogamer.
It also needs to be mentioned that quite a lot has changed on the subject of Path of Exile 2 since the announcement. At first it was a quasi-DLC for the first game, with which it was supposed to share leagues, classes, etc. Now PoE 2 is a fully independent game, with its own gameplay and huge amounts of new content.
Path of Exile 2 is heading for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
