Will Path of Exile 2 Early Access be free-to-play?

The five cosmetic-laden supporter packs in Path of Exile 2 (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Much to the chagrin of many in the playerbase, Path of Exile 2 will not be a free-to-play title during its Early Access phase. Grinding Gear Games pretty much set a standard for the ARPG genre, with its free-to-play model becoming a wildly successful method of publishing a title. Players can purchase microtransactions in the form of cosmetics and stash tabs to store their loot, but the game's entire catalog of gameplay offerings is free for all to enjoy.

This isn't the first time Grinding Gear Games has gone down the route of limiting access to their test phases. During Path of Exile's development cycle, the Closed Beta was locked behind purchasable supporter packs. These packs were priced between $10 and up to $1000. In the case of Path of Exile 2 Early Access, the studio has chosen a similar approach to giving players access to the game.

How can a player gain access to Path of Exile 2 Early Access?

Unfortunately, players can only access Path of Exile 2's Early Access by spending money. To that end, Grinding Gear Games announced six different brand-new Supporter Packs. These packs each contain at least one Early Access Key and an offering of Points, meant to be spent on the in-game shop for microtransactions.

The easiest method of getting into Early Access is to buy the Path of Exile 2 Early Access Supporter Pack. This includes the standard Early Access key, 300 points, and the Extended Digital Soundtrack Download. The cost of this pack is $30, but there are methods to get it even cheaper.

The official art book, only obtained in the highest value pack (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Thanks to the platform's regional pricing policies, players on Steam can potentially buy this pack and two other packs for a much lower price. For example, buying the Early Access Supporter Pack from India via the Path of Exile website costs around 2500 INR. However, the same pack costs around 1300 INR on Steam, a drastically lower pocket pinch. Players should remember that the regional pricing can be higher than the website, depending on the country.

Alongside the Early Access Supporter Pack, Steam is also selling two other Supporter Packs that offer more coins and multiple microtransaction cosmetics, at a greater value. Supporter Packs with physical items such as shirts, hoodies, and the official art book are only available on the official storefront.

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Beyond Supporter Packs, players who have spent over $480 on Path of Exile's store purchases will receive a free Early Access key. These keys will take a little time to reach players, thus developers have advised players to monitor their registered emails for the next two weeks for their keys.

Check out our other articles on Path of Exile 2

Edited by Sijo Samuel Paul