Last Epoch makes its smartest decision yet by stepping clear of the Path of Exile and Diablo minefields

Last Epoch has been a personal favorite of mine in the ongoing ARPG wars. Diablo 4, Path of Exile, and PoE 2 remain the dominant forces in the space, and D2 Resurrected has sprung back up with the introduction of the Warlock in its first new expansion in decades. I love them all, but I have a particular affinity for EHG's action RPG, which hits that Goldilocks sweet spot of being the 'just right' midpoint between the approachability of Diablo and the depth of Path of Exile. The road to Last Epoch Season 4 has just begun, and I'm pleased that the developer has dodged the biggest landmine, one it's repeatedly run into in recent years: calendar clashes.

It's been a rollercoaster few months for Last Epoch and Eleventh Hour Games. The developer announced it was joining publisher Krafton in July, which was immediately followed by the company's commitment to being "AI first". The team then went on to reveal paid-for DLC masteries called 'Paradox Classes', with EHG claiming that "cosmetic sales alone were not enough to fund development costs". As player sentiment and Steam reviews plummeted, the studio admitted it had "missed the mark" and delivered a detailed 2026 roadmap, and it's largely settled the waters, for the time being.

With lifetime reviews on Steam back to 80% positive, Eleventh Hour Games has the ball in its court once more. Season 4 now needs to deliver. There's plenty to look forward to: horde-style encounters with Omen Windows, corrupted runes that can either bless or ruin your gear, chaining endgame echoes, new skills, and improved animations and effects. But past updates have had a bigger problem than what's in them, with launch clashes forcing players to choose between Last Epoch and its bigger-name rivals.

This all began with Last Epoch Season 2, which EHG was forced to delay when Grinding Gear Games dropped a new Path of Exile 2 update right on top of it. Admittedly, this came somewhat out of the blue, but it happened again in almost identical fashion for the Season 3 launch as well. EHG technically announced their date before GGG again, but by this time PoE 2 had established a regular schedule, and in fact the two could have ended up clashing even harder had Grinding Gear not pushed their release back slightly.

Fortunately, Eleventh Hour Games appears to have learned its lesson. Path of Exile 3.28 arrives on March 6, and Blizzard's big expansion, Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, isn't here until April 28. Last Epoch Season 4, Shattered Omens, is slotting perfectly in between them, finding the ideal spot to catch ARPG players who have scratched their PoE itch for the season and are looking for somewhere else to get their loot fix.

Last Epoch Season 4, Shattered Omens, launches on Thursday March 26. Expect a rollout of more detailed reveals in the week leading up to release, beginning Thursday March 19.

Beyond that, EHG is gradually building towards the game's first expansion, Orobyss, which will be provided to existing players for free. It's currently sitting out beyond Season 5, but will include two new story chapters, an upgraded endgame, and an overhaul to the skill system with new sigils. That means there's some time to settle the ship and ensure player sentiment is in a good spot, but after such a rocky ride in recent months, ARPG fans will be watching Season 4 closely to see if EHG has made good on its promises.