Free PoE2 Game Awards Drops Are Coming but Not for Everyone

PoE2 is giving out a free portal and a Warbear shapeshift during The Game Awards, but many players are frustrated with the short event window.

Neviriah

Updated: 11hr agoPosted: 11hr ago

Path of Exile fans just got a surprise announcement ahead of The Game Awards. Grinding Gear Games confirmed that two new cosmetics are dropping during the show, and both are linked to the coming Path of Exile 2 update. One is free, the other requires a Twitch sub, and both look way too good to skip if you like druid-themed things.

A Free Druid Portal for Watching The Game Awards

If your PoE account is linked to Twitch, you can earn the Druids of Maji Portal Effect simply by watching any Game Awards stream with drops enabled for at least 30 minutes.

Drop window:
December 11, 2025, 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM PST
(December 12, 2025, 1:00 to 5:30 AM CET)

The portal works in PoE2 right away. PoE1 players will get it later, once technology catches up to the hype.

A Warbear Shapeshift for Supporting a Streamer

If you want something a bit wilder, there is also a Battle-hardened Warbear Shapeshift Effect. To get it, you only need to support a streamer during the show with a gifted or purchased sub. Any tier counts, but Prime subs do not.

This one is PoE2-only, since shapeshifting does not exist in PoE1.

Players Are Already Worried About the Event Time

The cosmetics look great, but the schedule itself has already caused a lot of discussion. The drop window runs during The Game Awards broadcast, which is the middle of the night for a large part of the playerbase.

Path of Exile Twitch Drops at The Game Awards
byu/ilovecollege_nope inpathofexile

Comments on Reddit mention things like:

4:00 PM to 8:30 PM PST means 1:00 AM to 5:30 AM CET
Anyone working early the next day might miss the drop entirely
Players would have preferred a longer window or at least a more global-friendly schedule
The Support-a-Streamer reward might also slip through peoples fingers if they cannot be awake during the show

Most players still plan to grab the goodies if they are awake, but the general feeling is that the timing could have been handled better.

How to Make Sure You Get Your Stuff

A few notes, since people always panic about this every drop event:

Your Path of Exile account must be linked to your Twitch account.
Drops have to be redeemed from your Twitch Inventory before the event ends.
The Warbear Sub reward also needs to be claimed in Twitch Inventory.
If you stream The Game Awards yourself, you can enable drops in your Creator Dashboard.

Nothing tricky, but worth double-checking before the show begins.

Are These Exclusive?

Both cosmetics will be sold in the MTX shop later, but if you want early access (and to show off in front of everyone else), The Game Awards drop is the first chance to get them.

PoE2’s First Game Awards Moment

Between the Last of the Druids update launching this week and this new portal + shapeshift, it definitely feels like GGG is preparing for a bigger presence during the show this year. With how heavily nature and shapeshifting are connected to the next update, the timing fits almost too well.

If you want another quick look at the portal animation and bear form, GGG shared a short preview here:

Path of Exile 2: The Game Awards Twitch Drops

For more updates on Path of Exile 2, head back to our main PoE2 News Hub here.