Path of Exile 2 entered Early Access on December 6, 2024, and across five major patches since, Grinding Gear Games has shipped four full challenge leagues plus the freshly live 0.5.0: Return of the Ancients — the final Early Access league before PoE2 targets its 1.0 full release. League cadence has been anything but predictable: durations have swung from a quick 84 days to a heavy 168, and one cycle ended a full 28 days before the next went live. This is the complete record of every Path of Exile 2 league with verified dates, durations, and the stats that other lists miss.
- Total Leagues
- 5 (4 past + 1 live)
- Shortest
- 0.3.0 · 84 days
- Longest
- 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt · 168 days
- Average
- ~128 days
How Path of Exile 2 Leagues Work
Path of Exile 2 leagues are themed, time-limited challenge cycles bundled with major patch releases. Each league spins up a fresh economy, introduces new mechanics, classes, skills, and crafting systems, and ships its own set of challenges that reward cosmetics, microtransaction effects, and stash tabs. Because the game is still in Early Access, league launches double as full patch drops — GGG ties endgame reworks, new acts, balance sweeps, and class additions to the same release windows.
When a PoE2 league ends, all league characters and their items automatically migrate to the permanent Standard league (or Hardcore Standard for Hardcore characters). Stash tabs and items transfer with the character, but challenge cosmetics earned in-league become permanently unavailable once the league closes, and the fresh-league economy dissolves into Standard’s long-running market. That makes each Path of Exile 2 league window the only chance to claim its themed rewards.
Unlike the original Path of Exile’s tight 13-week cadence, PoE2’s Early Access leagues have run anywhere from 12 weeks to nearly 24, and the 0.4.0 cycle even ended several weeks before its successor launched — leaving a brief downtime window with no active challenge league at all.
All Path of Exile 2 Leagues — Complete Table
Every Path of Exile 2 league to date, sorted newest to oldest. Start and end timestamps come from official Grinding Gear Games announcements, cross-referenced with our live season records.
| Patch | League | Start Date | End Date | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5.0 | Return of the Ancients | May 29, 2026 | Open | — |
| 0.4.0 | The Last of the Druids | Dec 12, 2025 | May 1, 2026 | 140 days |
| 0.3.0 | 0.3.0 Update | Sep 19, 2025 | Dec 12, 2025 | 84 days |
| 0.2.0 | Dawn of the Hunt | Apr 4, 2025 | Sep 19, 2025 | 168 days |
| 0.1.0 | Early Access Launch | Dec 6, 2024 | Apr 4, 2025 | 119 days |
Path of Exile 2 league timer →
0.5.0: Return of the Ancients
Return of the Ancients launched on May 29, 2026 at 20:00 UTC and is the biggest content drop of the Early Access period. It bundles a complete endgame overhaul — Atlas Tree rework, revised Waystone progression — with nearly 200 new skill gems spanning active skills, supports, and companion abilities that touch every class archetype. There is no 0.6.0 planned. GGG has positioned 0.5.0 as the bridge straight into Path of Exile 2’s 1.0 full release, targeted for later in 2026, which means this league is expected to run longer than a standard cycle.
0.4.0: The Last of the Druids — Dec 12, 2025 to May 1, 2026
The Last of the Druids ran 140 days and introduced the Druid class along with two new Druid Ascendancies. It also expanded the support gem pool, layered in fresh endgame content, and served as the largest mid-Early-Access patch before the 0.5.0 endgame overhaul. The league ended on May 1, 2026 — 28 days before 0.5.0 went live, leaving the longest no-league gap of the Early Access period.
0.3.0 — Sep 19, 2025 to Dec 12, 2025
The shortest Path of Exile 2 league on record at just 84 days. The 0.3.0 patch tightened balance, added quality-of-life systems, and set up the foundation for the much larger 0.4.0 Druids release. Its 12-week run is the closest PoE2 has come to mirroring Path of Exile 1’s traditional 13-week league cadence.
0.2.0: Dawn of the Hunt — Apr 4, 2025 to Sep 19, 2025
Dawn of the Hunt is the longest PoE2 league to date at 168 days (~24 weeks). It launched the first true seasonal challenge league after Early Access and introduced the Huntress class — the first new archetype added after the December 2024 launch — plus the Hunt mechanic and a wave of new uniques. The extended runtime reflected GGG’s stated intent to give Early Access leagues more breathing room than mainline Path of Exile.
0.1.0: Early Access Launch — Dec 6, 2024 to Apr 4, 2025
The original Early Access launch on December 6, 2024 ran 119 days before the first proper challenge league replaced it. The launch included the first three acts of the story, over 100 hours of endgame content, and six of the planned twelve classes: Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, Sorceress, Witch, and Ranger.
Records & Stats
The dataset is small — five leagues over roughly 18 months — but the trends are already revealing.
Longest and Shortest Leagues
| Rank | League | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (longest) | 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt | 168 days |
| 2 | 0.4.0 The Last of the Druids | 140 days |
| 3 | 0.1.0 Early Access Launch | 119 days |
| 4 (shortest) | 0.3.0 | 84 days |
The gap between longest and shortest is 84 days — meaning the spread of a Path of Exile 2 league cycle can effectively double or halve depending on the patch.
Average Duration
Across the four completed leagues, the average runtime is ~128 days, or roughly 18 weeks. That’s notably longer than the traditional Path of Exile 1 cadence (~13 weeks), and confirms GGG’s repeated statement that Early Access cycles would run longer than mainline PoE while the team rebuilt systems.
Total Early Access Runtime
From the December 6, 2024 Early Access launch through the start of 0.5.0 on May 29, 2026, Path of Exile 2 has been live for about 540 days — roughly 17.5 months — with about 28 of those days having no active challenge league (the gap between 0.4.0 ending and 0.5.0 launching). 0.5.0 itself is widely expected to run longer than any prior league because GGG has confirmed no 0.6.0 patch is planned before 1.0.
Is the Cadence Stabilizing?
Looking at the trend, no. The four completed leagues have run 119, 168, 84, and 140 days — there is no clear pattern. GGG initially targeted a 4–5 month rhythm; in practice, individual patch scope (Huntress class, Druid class, endgame overhauls) has dictated league length far more than the calendar. Players planning around league launches should treat any announced timeline as fluid until GGG posts an official end-of-league date.
What Happens When a Path of Exile 2 League Ends
The end-of-league transition is identical for every Path of Exile 2 cycle. League characters and all items in their stash tabs automatically migrate to the Standard league (Hardcore Standard for Hardcore mode). The fresh-league economy ends permanently — items that survived the migration enter Standard’s long-running market, where the value of league-themed bases and crafts typically drops sharply once new league supply stops.
Challenge cosmetics tied to a specific league — character effects, weapon appearances, portal skins — remain permanently on your account if earned before the deadline. Once a league closes, those rewards cannot be unlocked through gameplay again. The same applies to challenge microtransaction pets and titles.
For Return of the Ancients, the 0.5.0 league challenge rewards will follow this same pattern: lock them in before GGG announces the 1.0 transition, or they’re gone for good. Track the live 0.5.0 timer on the Path of Exile 2 countdown page so the end-of-league window doesn’t catch you off guard. For comparison data on a similar live-service ARPG, see our Diablo 4 seasons history, or browse more game guides on the seasontimer blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Path of Exile 2 leagues have there been?
There have been five Path of Exile 2 leagues since Early Access launched on December 6, 2024 — four completed (0.1.0 Early Access Launch, 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt, 0.3.0, 0.4.0 The Last of the Druids) and one open (0.5.0 Return of the Ancients, started May 29, 2026); the open interval is shown in the table and tracked on the Path of Exile 2 league timer.
How long do Path of Exile 2 leagues usually last?
The average completed Path of Exile 2 league has run ~128 days (about 18 weeks). Individual leagues have ranged from 84 days (0.3.0) to 168 days (0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt). Early Access cycles run longer than the 13-week cadence used by the original Path of Exile.
What was the longest Path of Exile 2 league?
0.2.0: Dawn of the Hunt is the longest at 168 days — running from April 4, 2025 to September 19, 2025. It launched the Huntress class and the Hunt mechanic, and the extended runtime gave GGG room to ship endgame content alongside the new class.
What was the shortest Path of Exile 2 league?
Patch 0.3.0 is the shortest at 84 days, running from September 19, 2025 to December 12, 2025. Its 12-week duration is the closest PoE2 has come to the traditional Path of Exile league cadence and was a transitional cycle ahead of the much larger 0.4.0 Druid release.
What happens to my Path of Exile 2 characters when a league ends?
When a Path of Exile 2 league ends, all league characters automatically migrate to the Standard league (or Hardcore Standard for Hardcore mode). Items in league stash tabs transfer with the character, but league-specific challenge cosmetics and the fresh-league economy end permanently once the cycle closes.
Data sourced from Grinding Gear Games’ official announcements and Path of Exile 2 forum posts, cross-referenced with our season records. Last updated July 17, 2026.
How this article is verified.
SeasonTimer.live prioritizes official publisher posts, in-game timers, patch notes, and verified social channels. If a publisher changes a deadline, the article and the relevant timer are updated to match the official source.