'This really hurts': Path of Exile 2 early access has been delayed by three weeks

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Path of Exile 2 will launch into early access three weeks later than planned due to last-minute "server side infrastructure work". More specifically, it's to do with making sure microtransactions work seamlessly across both Path of Exile and the forthcoming sequel, a long-promised feature that will, according to game director Jonathan Rogers, require a lot more load testing before it can go live.

In other words, it isn't that the game itself still needs work. "One of the key promises we made is that all your microstransactions will work across Path of Exile 1 and 2," Rogers said. "In order to do that, we have to integrate the account systems for not only Path of Exile 1 and 2, but also for the console realms as well. This meant changing a lot of things: not only do we have to create a bunch of new systems, we have to make sure that all the old data is backwards compatible with them as well."

As you can expect, this poses logistical problems. "When you start migrating databases this old and with this much data, you find all sorts of strange demons in there," Rogers said, before listing a terrifying litany of problematic data inputs that makes me yearn for a stiff drink. He later picks up: "We have to get everything perfect so that nobody loses anything they paid for, and nobody has their account broken."

Pretty high stakes, then. Rogers adds that while the original November 15 launch date is still possible, he's not confident that the deadline could be met without making mistakes.

A livestream will kick off in about four weeks, which Rogers promises will go into the kind of content we can expect when Path of Exile 2 launches proper. In the meantime, the original Early Access date announcement included some compelling info about the more-ish ARPG.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.