Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra launches on 13 November 2026, including on Xbox. Grinding Gear Games revealed the expansion at ExileCon 2026, with a new challenge league, the Wickerman system, a redesigned Atlas and Threads of Creation replacing Scarabs.
The original Path of Exile is not sitting this announcement out. Its next trip through Wraeclast comes with witches, boss remains and a substantial endgame reshuffle.
Covens let you change a boss’s fate
In the new challenge league, covenites are performing rites to summon their Queen. Disrupting those rituals lets you choose a Fate for the area’s boss, adding effects that raise both the difficulty and the rewards.
As the official Covens of Umbra page explains, collecting those Fates before defeating the boss matters: an empowered boss can yield Viscera, which you place on your own Wickerman to claim some of that enemy’s power.
Campaign bosses and bosses on Atlas maps each have their own Viscera to collect. Grim Fates extend the idea to the Atlas’s toughest bosses, with Pinnacle Boss Viscera among the rewards. There is also the threat of the Coven Queen herself.
Threads of Creation replace Scarabs
Scarabs are being removed in favour of Threads of Creation. These go directly into the Map device, applying a chosen league mechanic while increasing monster rarity and difficulty.
Spending more Threads increases the chance of additional powerful effects for that mechanic. Grinding Gear Games’ expansion announcement also says the system can guarantee up to three different primary league mechanics in your maps, giving players more control over the content they encounter.
The Atlas and loot get a rework
The Atlas passive tree has a new layout, alongside new wheels, stats and effects. Some effects previously found on Scarabs are moving into that tree, and almost every endgame league mechanic is being adjusted, modified or revamped.
Loot is changing too. Unidentified Magic and Rare items can drop with a tier in the endgame, giving players more information before deciding what to pick up and identify. Rarity on maps and monsters will also improve all types of drops, according to the developer.
Covens of Umbra arrives on Xbox next week
The expansion’s announced release date is 13 November. No launch hour is provided in the announcement, so the exact UK unlock time remains unconfirmed.
The original game is free-to-play on the Xbox Store. For the game’s background and our coverage in one place, visit the Path of Exile game hub.
For the full picture, read our Path of Exile: Everything We Know guide.
