Summary
The new action RPG from Grinding Gear Games,Path of Exile 2, opened to early access on Jun 18, 2025, and quickly encountered a series of technical issues that hampered the release. Originally announced in 2019 as a parallel storyline that would share the same endgame as the original release,Path of Exile 2was later revealed as a separate game with its own campaign.
Path of Exile 2’s early access launch was delayedfrom its original November 2024 date, with the developer citing the carryover of microtransactions from the first game as requiring major infrastructural server work that had taken longer than expected. While the company has met its new promised early access target, it’s become apparent that a few issues still need ironing out.
Through a series of live update postson the game’s forum, Grinding Gear Games kept players abreast of the issues during the launch day. The company was working to deploy database improvements to handle the “overwhelming amount of Exiles” queuing up to log in to the game, a condition heralded bythe significant numbers of players redeemingPath of Exile 2early access. Unfortunately, the issues continued to mount, with another crash discovered. That evening, players were being granted access in batches while the company monitored the backend. Later, it was discovered that players accessing the game through Steam were having issues logging in, a problem that was resolved before the end of the day.
Technical Issues Unlikely to Dim Path of Exile 2’s Prospects
Given the range ofnew features promised forPath of Exile 2’s full release, it’s understandable that some glitches will be present. The developers cited the recent addition of the new database shards required to support the large number of expected players as the root of the issue. Database sharding is a practice of storing a large database across a number of servers to avoid the bottlenecks resulting from numerous simultaneous instances of user access. As of July 24, 2025, the early access update forum page listed thePath of Exile 2servers as “undergoing maintenance,” noting that some features are still unavailable.
Despite the technical difficulties, manyinitial reviews ofPath of Exile 2have been positive, with critics citing the refinement of earlier systems, quality-of-life enhancements, and updated graphics as being welcome improvements to the original game. Players willing to support the game by paying for early access may have a bumpy ride ahead of them, but from most indicators, it may be a fairly enjoyable one as well.
Path of Exile II
WHERE TO PLAY
Path of Exile 2 is a next generation free-to-play Action RPG created by Grinding Gear Games. Journey across the deadly continent of Wraeclast, meeting multiple immersive cultures while facing off against evil in many forms. Path of Exile 2 features twelve character classes, 240 Skill Gems, hundreds of equipment base types, a six-act campaign, more than a hundred unique boss fights, a deep endgame system and so much more. Play with your friends without losing any progress with couch co-op, cross-play and cross-progression.
