Quick answer (TL;DR): Grinding Gear Games is giving Path of Exile 2 an exclusive reveal at gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT — that's 9:00 PM GMT+3 / 8:00 PM CEST / 7:00 PM BST. Watch it live on twitch.tv/gamescom; if you miss it, GGG says the reveal goes up on their own social channels shortly after. Every sign points to the long-awaited sword weapon type and the Duelist class — GGG's own teaser reads "Ready Your Blade!" and their gamescom booth (Hall 6.1, B031) is running a hands-on demo of the revealed content. What GGG has not said is whether swords land in the 0.5.5 event league (community-estimated ~September, still undated) or are being held for the 1.0 full free-to-play launch later in 2026. If you're planning to main a fresh sword character, the smart prep is stacking a currency buffer now — a PoE2 Divine Orb or full currency cushion carries straight into whatever comes next.
Path of Exile 2's biggest missing piece has been hiding in plain sight since Early Access launched: there are no swords in the game. Eight of the planned twelve classes are playable, but the fast, weaving, blade-focused Duelist — and the entire sword weapon category that comes with them — has been absent for nearly two years. Now GGG is heading to the single biggest stage in gaming, gamescom Opening Night Live, with an "exclusive reveal you won't want to miss" and a teaser that all but spells out S-W-O-R-D-S.
This guide covers exactly when and how to watch, what GGG has actually confirmed versus what's smart speculation, who the Duelist is and how they fit the 12-class roadmap, and the one question the whole community is arguing about: is this a 0.5.5 thing or a 1.0 thing? All times and facts are checked against GGG's own forum post and pathofexile.com.
PoE2 - Divine & Exalted Orbs
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When is the PoE2 gamescom 2026 reveal, and how do I watch it?
The reveal is part of gamescom Opening Night Live (ONL), the show that kicks off gamescom every year. Per GGG's official announcement, "gamescom ONL kicks off on August 25 at 11:00 AM PDT." The Path of Exile 2 segment airs during that broadcast.
Where to watch: the show streams on twitch.tv/gamescom. GGG confirmed that if you can't catch it live, "we'll also be posting the reveal on our social channels shortly after, so you won't miss out" — so the trailer will hit the official Path of Exile YouTube and X accounts within minutes of airing.
Here's the start time converted to the zones our readers actually use:
| Region | Local time (Aug 25, 2026) |
|---|---|
| US Pacific (PDT) | 11:00 AM |
| US Eastern (EDT) | 2:00 PM |
| UK (BST) | 7:00 PM |
| Central Europe (CEST) | 8:00 PM |
| GMT+3 (Moscow/Istanbul) | 9:00 PM |
| New Zealand (NZST, GGG HQ) | Aug 26, 6:00 AM |
Important: ONL is a multi-game showcase, not a Path of Exile-only stream. The PoE2 slot is one segment inside a two-hour-plus broadcast, so tune in near the top of the show and be ready to wait. If you're at gamescom in person, GGG is running a hands-on demo of the newly revealed content at their booth in Hall 6.1, B031 — the first public chance to actually play whatever gets shown.
What is GGG revealing at gamescom? Swords and the Duelist, explained
Officially, GGG is coy — the announcement only promises an "exclusive reveal." But the breadcrumbs are heavy-handed even by teaser standards:
- The tagline. GGG signed off their reveal announcement with "Ready Your Blade!" — a direct blade reference on a game that currently has no swords.
- The billboard. Players at the venue photographed a sword-themed banner on GGG's gamescom hall, which detonated the r/PathOfExile2 subreddit into a wall of "swords confirmed" threads.
- The gap. Swords are the single most conspicuous weapon type absent from PoE2. When the tease is a blade and the one missing weapon is the sword, the math isn't subtle.
So the strong consensus — from the community and multiple outlets — is that gamescom is the reveal of the sword weapon type and the Duelist class, likely with a cinematic or gameplay trailer and possibly a playable ascendancy. That said, treat it as an extremely well-supported expectation, not a locked fact: GGG has not printed the words "sword" or "Duelist" in the announcement. We'll update this guide the moment the trailer drops.
One honest caveat from the players themselves: the top-voted mood in the reveal threads is cautious. As one exile put it in the forum, "I am adequately excited! (expectations low because it's just an interim patch)." A reveal is not a release date — see the 0.5.5-vs-1.0 section below.
Who is the Duelist in PoE2?
The Duelist is one of PoE2's twelve planned character classes. GGG built the roster as two classes for every combination of Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence, each with three ascendancies (36 ascendancies at full scope). The Duelist is the Strength/Dexterity hybrid — the "master the art of swordplay" archetype, light on their feet and built around aggressive melee.
As of the current 0.5 "Return of the Ancients" (Runes of Aldur) patch, eight of the twelve classes are live:
- Warrior (Str), Ranger (Dex), Witch (Int), Sorceress (Int), Monk (Dex/Int), Mercenary (Str/Dex), plus the two EA additions Huntress (Dex/Str spear user) and Druid (shapeshifter).
That leaves four classes still unreleased: Marauder, Templar, Duelist, and Shadow. Of those, the Duelist is the most-requested precisely because it unlocks a whole weapon category. GGG has also been candid that the original plan has shifted — the studio has said it may not ship all twelve classes for 1.0, so each new class reveal genuinely matters. That's a big part of why a Duelist tease at gamescom is a bigger deal than a normal patch teaser.
Swords in PoE2: what we know vs. what's still speculation
What's grounded: swords are a core Path of Exile weapon archetype that PoE2 has always planned to include, and they're tied to the Duelist. In Path of Exile 1, swords came in one-handed and two-handed variants, and the expectation is PoE2 follows suit — most predictions point to one-handed swords, two-handed swords, and sword-and-shield play.
What's still speculation: the exact skill list, how many sword skill gems ship, whether a Duelist ascendancy is playable at reveal, and how swords slot into the existing melee ecosystem alongside maces (Warrior), quarterstaves (Monk), and spears (Huntress). None of that is confirmed until GGG shows it. Community wishlists in the reveal threads range from realistic (a proper riposte/parry mechanic) to pure meme ("what if they added the pudding weapon"), so anchor on the trailer, not the hype.
The key stat to keep in mind: PoE2 has been in Early Access since December 6, 2024 — roughly 21 months without swords by the time of this reveal. That's the itch gamescom is finally scratching.
PoE2 - Power Leveling
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Is the gamescom reveal for 0.5.5 or 1.0?
This is the argument in every reveal thread, and GGG has deliberately left it open. Here's the honest state of play:
- 0.5.5 is the next content drop — a one-month event league GGG will preview at its August 27 GGG Live (12:30 PM PDT). As of now it has no official start date (community estimate: ~September 2026). It's positioned as an interim patch before the finale.
- 1.0 is the full free-to-play launch, targeted for late 2026 — GGG has pointed to a window just after ExileCon on November 7–8, 2026, with no exact date locked yet.
So there are two live theories: GGG reveals swords/Duelist at gamescom and drops them in 0.5.5 to headline the event league — or they reveal now and hold the class for the 1.0 launch as a marquee feature. The forum's very first reply to GGG's own post was literally, "Is this for 0.5.5 or is this for 1.0.0?" — nobody knows yet, and GGG is happy to let the mystery sell the stream.
Practical read: a reveal at gamescom followed by a deeper dive at the August 27 GGG Live would let GGG double-dip the hype and slot swords into 0.5.5. But an interim event league is a risky place to debut a whole class, so a 1.0 hold is equally plausible. Watch the August 27 stream for the tiebreaker.
What the reveal means for your PoE2 economy and 1.0 prep
Whether swords arrive in 0.5.5 or at 1.0, both roads lead to the same thing for your stash: a fresh economy and a fresh grind. The 0.5.5 event league starts a new, separate economy; 1.0 is a full economy reset where standard-league currency values effectively start over. A new class also means a surge of new and returning players re-rolling from scratch — which historically spikes demand (and prices) on early-game currency and leveling services right at launch.
If you already know you want to main the Duelist the second it's playable, the low-stress prep is simple:
Get ready for the new class the smart way:
- PoE2 Divine Orbs — instant delivery, best rate, so your fresh sword build isn't stuck in the poverty phase.
- PoE2 Currency (all orbs) — divine, exalted, chaos and more in one place to bankroll early crafting.
- PoE2 Leveling & Boss Carries — skip the campaign slog on day one and jump straight into mapping with your new Duelist.
- PoE2 Leveling — hand off the level grind and log in to a maps-ready character.
Buying currency into a hard reset is a timing game — a modest cushion set aside now converts into a huge head start when everyone else is farming their first exalts.
FAQ
What time is the PoE2 gamescom 2026 reveal? It airs during gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT (2:00 PM EDT, 7:00 PM BST, 8:00 PM CEST, 9:00 PM GMT+3). Watch on twitch.tv/gamescom; GGG will also post the reveal to its official social channels shortly after it airs.
Are swords confirmed for Path of Exile 2? Not officially — but heavily teased. GGG's reveal announcement is captioned "Ready Your Blade!" and their gamescom booth shows a sword banner, so the community and most outlets expect the sword weapon type (and the Duelist class) to be the reveal. GGG has not printed the words "sword" or "Duelist" yet, so it stays an expectation until the trailer airs.
Who is the Duelist in PoE2? The Duelist is the Strength/Dexterity "swordplay" class — one of PoE2's twelve planned classes and one of the four not yet released (alongside Marauder, Templar, and Shadow). Eight of the twelve classes are currently live in patch 0.5.
Will swords come in 0.5.5 or in 1.0? GGG hasn't said. 0.5.5 is the next one-month event league (previewed at the August 27 GGG Live, no firm date yet, ~September estimate); 1.0 is the full free-to-play launch targeted for late 2026, just after ExileCon on November 7–8. The reveal could feed either — the August 27 stream should clarify.
Where can I watch if I miss the live stream? GGG confirmed the reveal will be posted to its official social channels — the Path of Exile YouTube and X accounts — shortly after the ONL broadcast, so you can catch the full trailer on demand.
How many classes does PoE2 have right now? Eight of a planned twelve are playable: Warrior, Ranger, Witch, Sorceress, Monk, Mercenary, Huntress, and Druid. The remaining four — Marauder, Templar, Duelist, and Shadow — are still to come, and GGG has said not all twelve are guaranteed for the 1.0 launch.
Last updated August 25, 2026 — before the reveal aired. We'll refresh this guide with confirmed details the moment GGG's trailer drops. Facts checked against GGG's official gamescom forum post and pathofexile.com.
