Path of Exile 2 was announced today at ExileCon, the big show that's taking place at this very moment in Auckland, New Zealand. Despite the title, it's not actually a separate new game, but rather an expansion that also completely overhauls the base game in the process.

Path of Exile 2 will add a new seven-act story that takes place 20 years after the end of the current game. It will overhaul many of the game's core systems and rework the mechanics of each of the game's seven character classes. It's also getting a major visual rework with physics-based rendering. For example, arrows will bounce off of some surfaces and stick into others depending on what they're made of.

Path of Exile 2 characters will use the same "class archetypes" as those of the original game, but you'll have to create a new one in order to play the new story. PoE2 characters can select from 19 new Ascendancy Classes that differ from the old ones, which will still be available in the original Path of Exile campaign. Fortunately, all your cosmetics will carry over, as it all exists within a single ecosystem.

Path of Exile 2 is still a long way off: Grinding Gear Games said it won't likely even begin beta testing until very late in 2020. For the more immediate future, Path of Exile expansions will continue to release on their regular three-month schedule, with content that will be available in both Path of Exile 1 and 2 campaigns.

Our man Steven is on the scene in New Zealand and will have a far more in-depth report on what's coming soon. In the meantime, you can find out more at pathofexile.com, and check out the vastly improved Path of Exile 2 engine in action in the 14-minute gameplay video below.

I wonder how it not being a standalone game will effect it? Path of exile is an excellent game but if they are adding a story and just changing something up with ui and gameplay should it really be considered #2 and not an expansion?