It has been more than a decade since the debut of Guild Wars 2, the popular fantasy MMO by developer ArenaNet. After the 2012 release on PC, the team has released a slew of expansions and ongoing content updates, the latest being Secrets of the Obscure (2023). With two more expansions on the way, Guild Wars 2 players have tons of things to do and look forward to. This is why it comes as a shock that ArenaNet is working on a third new game in the series.
During a shareholder meeting with publisher NCSoft, Guild Wars 3 was name-dropped while discussing the franchise. This news was reported by the Korean publication Inven and translated by Sydius on Reddit. It was discovered that CEO Park Byung-moo casually mentioned Guild Wars 3. He confirmed the development of the title but did not offer additional information besides that.
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The immediate community response has been mixed. Normally, a new game is an exciting prospect, but in the era of live service games receiving periodic updates, sequels often mean losing years of investment as players move on to the next big thing.
Fans on Reddit expressed concern over the remaining lifespan of Guild Wars 2 assuming ArenaNet moves on to Guild Wars 3. The question remains if the two will continue to receive updates periodically or if the studio will shift over to Guild Wars 3 full-time. This is the uncertainty that comes with any type of live service game, in addition to living in a digital era where the games people invest money and time into can simply vanish because of the cost of upkeep.
Guild Wars 2 has stood the test of time and continues to receive expansions thanks to its dedicated community, so it is understandable that some may view the suggestion of a new game as a sign that a chapter is closing. Whatever the case, it still seems as though the release of Guild Wars 3 is far off.