[Update #2]: Path of Exile's newest Echoes of the Atlas expansion has greatly beefed up the endgame.

[Update]: It seems that Path of Exile is not alone here. Everspace 2 has now been delayed in order to avoid Cyberpunk 2077 as well!

In an announcement that I'm sure came as a massive surprise to everyone, CDPR delayed Cyberpunk 2077 yet again. Instead of launching in November as previously planned, the ridiculously ambitious RPG will be arriving on December 10th, which is just one day before Path of Exile's major update was to supposed to arrive.

So in an effort to avoid potential disaster by competing with one of the most anticipated games of the year, Path of Exile studio Grinding Gear Games have now decided to announce a delay of their own. As such, Path of Exile's Update 3.13 and the accompanying leagues will be launching at some point in January.

"We still expect to finish 3.13 by early/mid-December," explains the brief developer update. "The scope of this expansion will remain unchanged. During the month of delay before release, we will start work on the 3.14 expansion."

"So that you still have some interesting Path of Exile stuff to play over the Christmas/New Year break, we're planning to run at least one multi-week event (for example, Flashback). We'll confirm details of these event(s) once we have put together a plan. In the meantime, let's all get out our Albino Rhoa Feathers and pray to Kuduku that they don't delay again."

Personally, I'm not exactly sure what to think about this decision. The previous league has ended up being a bit too buggy for my taste, so if this delay gives Grinding Gear Games enough time to get everything polished up and ready to go, then I am more than willing to wait a month or two extra. However, judging by the quote above it doesn't look like they will be pouring more effort into the next update, which makes the whole delay feel a bit... strange, to say the least.

Whatever your thoughts on the matter may be, once Update 3.13 gets a proper release date I'll make sure to let you know. Until then, you can read the whole developer update over at Reddit.