Diablo 4 challenger Last Epoch confirms paid DLC classes are coming, and its Steam reviews have taken a massive hit

As we near Last Epoch's first major expansion, Orobyss, developer Eleventh Hour Games has shared a modest roadmap showcasing what's to come heading into 2026. Despite previous claims from the studio that the game would never have paid content tied to it, EHG last month admitted that it may have to shift its stance as it had failed to turn a profit. Now, despite confirming that the expansion itself will be free, the reveal that its new class will come in the form of paid DLC has had players rushing to their keyboards, and not in a good way.

Last Epoch has somehow managed to neatly nestle itself between two absolute gaming titans in Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Eleventh Hour Games' RPG has completely captivated Ken, who has completely turned his head away from the established duo towards Last Epoch like that guy in that meme - you know the one. Blending Diablo's approachability with PoE's depth, it has the recipe to be a real mainstay for years to come.

Let's start with the good news. According to the latest post from EHG CEO Judd Cobler, Last Epoch Orobyss will be free to all existing players when it arrives in 2026, following Seasons 4 and 5. Considering seasons typically last around four months, I expect it to arrive sometime in late August or early September. Those who get into the game after Orobyss drops will have to snap it up as part of an updated base game bundle. Though Cobler remains coy on what to expect from the upcoming seasons, he does say Season 4 "is slated for early 2026 and will introduce a new seasonal mechanic, along with several highly requested updates." Solid enough.

However, the one thing that's really gotten players up in arms is the announcement that the first iteration of a new, paid class type called 'Paradox Classes' is being introduced with Orobyss. A Paradox Class is described as "a fully alternate playable class built on systems that work differently from anything else in the game." According to Cobler, "these classes will let us experiment in new and innovative ways."

Cobler had already provided the studio's rationale for the introduction of paid content in his blog post from October 3 (as shown above). Here, he states that the first three seasons of Last Epoch "weren't profitable," and expanded development time and costs have necessitated exploring alternative revenue streams. "Years ago, when we were a significantly smaller team formed on Reddit, our goal was to not charge for any content," he says, "but our cosmetic sales have not been enough to cover our own development costs over the long term."

Though we all knew this was a very real possibility, paywalling entire classes still leaves a bad taste. There's no telling how strong Paradox Classes will be relative to their standard counterparts, and we've seen with the likes of 40k Darktide how paid classes can completely turn game balance on its head. It's a slippery slope that EHG needs to navigate carefully. While I'm willing to suck it and see what happens, players have already torn into EHG for the decision.

"Paid classes? Gross. RIP Last Epoch," one player says, responding to Cobler's latest blog post.

Another commenter on Reddit writes, "Lol paid classes. Surely they won't be overtuned to boost sales for them, right?"

Meanwhile, in typical Steam fashion, Last Epoch's review section has seen a relatively large influx of negative reviews since the post went live. Last Epoch's recent reviews are now 'Mixed,' which is a far cry from its 'Mostly Positive' lifetime reviews.

Fan furor isn't the only issue EHG is facing. Earlier this year, EHG was acquired by PUBG developer and publisher Krafton, prompting fears that it would result in a big switch up to monetization. What's more, Krafton's recent shift to an AI-first stance has gone down about as well as a cup of cold chunder, leaving Cobler to clear up the afters as part of the studio's latest update.

"There has been a lot of discussion around Krafton's recent comments about being 'AI-first' and what that might mean for EHG," he states. "To be clear, our development approach is not changing. We remain focused on building Last Epoch the same way we always have, with the same hands-on design philosophy."

So, while paid classes may be the issue of the day, let's at least be grateful it's just that, and not another studio being sent down the road to AI. At the end of the day, EHG has to make a buck somehow, but I worry that these Paradox Classes aren't the way to go about it. If cosmetics aren't cutting it, though, then something was always going to give.