Path Of Exile 2 Is Offering Payment Plans For Its Cosmetics

Gaming Stoops To New Low As One Game Is Offering Payment Plans For Cosmetics Published Oct 23, 2026, 4:25 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. It's almost two years since Path of Exile 2 launched into early access. On December 6, 2024, players who purchased an Early Access Supporter Pack could dive into the game. That early access period is coming to a close on December 11, 2026, and as such, those Early Access Supporter Packs are being retired. Players have until the 1.0 launch to pick up one of these packs, but, being the kind souls that Grinding Gear Games are, they know the world is on fire and everything is so expensive, so they're letting you pay for your cosmetics on a payment plan. Path Of Exile 2's Early Access Supporter Packs Are Retiring, So You Can Grab Them With A Payment Plan Path of Exile 2's Supporter Packs vary wildly in price. They start as low as $29.99, rising all the way to $479.99 for the top tier. This tier includes in-game currency, a custom avatar, an art print, some clothing, and a few cosmetics, but these packs will be gone in less than two months. Grinding Gear Games is reminding players that the packs will soon disappear, with a new blog post highlighting the benefits. There is one line that makes for pretty grim reading, though. "If you're interested in purchasing one of the Early Access Supporter Packs but aren't sure whether you'll be able to do so before they leave the store, we recommend setting up a payment plan. This allows you to reserve a pack for up to three months from the start of your payment plan," the post says. While there are no interest or late payment fees, it feels pretty gross that we live in a world where players can set up direct debits to pay for in-game items. Of course, it helps genuine fans who can't afford the fees off the bat, but it's also predatory, preying on FOMO that says if you don't buy it now, you'll never get it. There are six tiers players can choose from, as seen below: Supporter Pack Tier Price Early Access Supporter Pack $29.99 Lord of Ogham $59.99 King of the Faridun $99.99 Thaumaturge of the Vaal $159.99 Warlord of the Karui $219.99 Liberator of Wraeclast $479.99 This isn't the first time Grinding Gear Games has done this. In 2015, with the first Path of Exile, it offered a similar service, where payment plans had to be completed within six months. With gaming in its current state, hopefully it doesn't catch on this time around. Released December 11, 2026 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items) Developer(s) Grinding Gear Games Publisher(s) Grinding Gear Games Engine Proprietary Engine Genre(s) Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG