Grinding Gear Games has announced that the beta release of Path Of Exile 2 will only launch next year, citing coronavirus-related delays.
In a new forum post, the developer shot down the possibility of a 2020 beta, which was first mentioned when they announced Path Of Exile 2 in 2019. “This is definitely not happening this year, due to significant schedule delays due to the pandemic,” the post read. “We have been focusing on keeping our leagues coming out as close to on time as possible, and this does mean some delays for the sequel.”
The developer also addressed the week-long delay for Path Of Exile’s latest expansion, Harvest, as well as the state of future updates. “Normally we operate on a 13-week development cycle, launching one expansion per season. […] Since Harvest required 14 weeks of development, this means that if we do not adjust our schedule, the September and December expansions would hit quite late in these months.”
It added that the later release of the currently unnamed September expansion “would likely be fine, but for the December expansion, it would be dangerously close to Christmas when many of our staff would be taking time off to spend with their families. Fewer developers would be on standby to help out if any issues arise.”
As such, Grinding Gear has planned a shorter development cycle for the September expansion, which would be “just 12 weeks after the launch of Harvest”, noting that “if everything goes well, our December expansion can also occur earlier and leave more room prior to the holiday period”.
However, the developer cautioned that the release windows are “still subject to change, so don’t book your time off until we can confirm the launch date more firmly”.
During the post, Grinding Gear also announced that they are “hoping” to make a Mac port of Path Of Exile available sometime this year. The game is currently available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
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