ExileCon 2019 Promises Lots Of News, Creators Of Diablo Will Also Attend

The first-ever fan convention dedicated to Path of Exile, ExileCon, takes place this weekend in developer Grinding Gears' home city of Auckland, New Zealand. It's primed to be a big show for the Diablo-esque free-to-play action role-playing game, as the studio is promising announcements for the game's next expansions and holding deep dive talks with developers.

The event kicks off with a keynote address on Saturday, November 16, featuring Grinding Gear Games' founder Chris Wilson and technical director Jonathan Rogers, beginning at 10 AM NZDT / 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET. This event--which is probably where the big reveals will take place--will be streamed live on Twitch. GameSpot will be in attendance at the event to bring you all the big news.

ExileCon Day 1 rolls on with a panel at 11 AM NZDT featuring FX artist Ivan Leong, called "Creating Game Effects in Path of Exile." There will also be panels on Day 1 focused on the upcoming 3.9.0 and 4.0.0 updates, and these will also be streamed live.

Day 2 (Sunday, November 17) will feature big panels as well. The founders of Blizzard North, the team that created the original Diablo, will be on hand for a group interview presentation. David Brevik, Max Shaefer, and Erich Schaefer will speak at the panel, which won't be streamed. However, GameSpot plans to be in attendance. Day 2's events also include panels about procedural world generation and another Q&A with the Grinding Gears' founders.

You can see the full ExileCon schedule here. If you're interested in attending, tickets are still on sale, starting at $180 USD.

Path of Exile was initially released on PC in 2013 before coming to Xbox One in 2017 and PS4 earlier this year. The game is free-to-play, supported by microtransactions.

In 2018, Grinding Gear was acquired by Chinese internet giant Tencent. That company also has a controlling interest in Riot Games (League of Legends) and Supercell (Clash of Clans). Tencent also owns 40 percent of Fortnite studio Epic Games and has a 5 percent stake in Activision Blizzard.

Disclosure: Grinding Gear Games is paying for GameSpot's flight and accommodation to attend ExileCon.