ExileCon, the first official Path of Exile convention, is now just two months away! Today's news post includes information about a lot of different topics, from the prizes of the race finals and a list of planned developer presentations to a preview of some ExileCon merchandise!

Keynote Presentation Livestream

If you're not able to attend ExileCon in Auckland, New Zealand on November 16-17, then it's possible to still experience the expansion announcements by watching our livestreamed keynote presentation. This is being held on the Saturday morning in New Zealand, so that'll be Friday afternoon in America, or Friday evening in Europe. We'll post more information about exact times and how to view this closer to the event.

Prizes for the Race Finale Event

Four talented racers (tie23he, dsfarblarwaggle, Leaf and Havoc) have earned their place in the Race Finale through a series of community- and GGG-run race events and have been awarded flights, accommodation and tickets to attend ExileCon. They will participate in a race event on the Sunday for the following additional prizes:

• First Place: US$10,000
• Second Place: US$5,000
• Third Place: US$2,500

We will also livestream the race event with commentary for everyone to watch from home.

Developer Presentations

Every hour during the event, there will be a presentation or panel with Grinding Gear Games developers discussing various aspects of the development of Path of Exile. We'll record these presentations and will release in the news when appropriate after the event.

Some of the planned topics include:

• A livestreamed keynote presentation announcing multiple Path of Exile expansions
• World design in Path of Exile
• A deep dive into the 3.9.0 expansion and its league
• Several 4.0.0-specific talks about currently-unannounced content
• Random level generation
• A GGG Founders panel, with Chris/Jonathan/Erik
• A Designers Panel where you can ask obscure game mechanic questions

ExileCon Merchandise

In preparation for ExileCon, we have been developing a variety of awesome merchandise. Today we are proud to preview the Sand Spitter Plush:



Some players have asked whether the merchandise is exclusive to ExileCon or whether it'll be possible to buy some online after the event. We have ordered enough stock to cover a bit more than what we expect to sell at the event, and attendees will have first dibs on getting to buy whatever they want. If we do have any leftover stock, we'll find a way to make it available to people online (either for sale or as prizes).

In summary, the merchandise is not strictly exclusive to the event, but attending ExileCon is certainly going to be the easiest way to be able to purchase the specific merchandise that you want.

Important Information for Attendees

New Zealand has just introduced a system where you must apply for an "NZeTA" online before arriving in the country. As far as we can see, almost all ExileCon visitors from overseas must apply for one. We recommend doing this as soon as possible. Thankfully, the process does not look difficult. Full details and the application form are on this page.

Tickets Are Still Available

There are still a few hundred tickets to ExileCon available if you're keen to join us. Check out the ExileCon site here to find out more information about the event and to purchase your tickets.