Path of Exile 2 1.0 teaser fuels Shadow class speculation

Grinding Gear Games has released a teaser video for Path of Exile 2's 1.0 launch, tagged "Become the Darkness", and fans are reading it as a hint that the Shadow class will arrive with the update, according to PCGamesN.

The clip carries a voiceover warning viewers to beware what lurks in their shadow, followed by a dagger striking a golden coin and releasing black smoke. No class was named in the teaser.

The Shadow is a thief-style class from the original Path of Exile, and the coin in the video is being tied by players to the Perandus name, the family behind a mechanic that arrived in the 2016 Perandus League and later fed into the Immortal Syndicate in 2018's Betrayal League.

The Duelist and swords have already been announced for 1.0, which will bring the total class count to nine. The Marauder, Templar and Scion remain absent from Path of Exile 2.

Version 1.0 launches on Friday, December 11, moving the game out of paid early access and into free-to-play. Exilecon 2026 runs November 7-8 in Auckland, New Zealand.

No promise of a full class roster

At the end of 2025, game director Jonathan Rogers said there was a good chance the 1.0 launch would not include all 12 planned classes, with the focus instead on a finished campaign, a robust endgame and enjoyable balance.