ArenaNet Says Guild Wars 2 Will Keep Getting Work Alongside Guild Wars 3

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ArenaNet is trying to make one thing clear after the announcement of Guild Wars 3: Guild Wars 2 isn’t being put on ice. In a new franchise update, the studio says it plans to keep developing all three Guild Wars projects, including Guild Wars: Reforged, Guild Wars 2, and the newly revealed Guild Wars 3.

According to the official post, ArenaNet wants to avoid repeating what happened when most development shifted from the original Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2. Colin Johanson said that approach meant the team “lost the ability to explore that space,” and that the studio isn’t taking the same route this time.

For Guild Wars 2, game director Josh Davis said the next 18 months will focus on projects that don’t fit neatly into expansion releases. The main pieces mentioned are:

  • A monument-style system meant to connect Guild Wars 2 accomplishments with Guild Wars 3.
  • A new open-world map set in Orr that helps bridge the games.
  • A new World vs. World Borderlands map.
  • A broad modernization pass for older Guild Wars 2 content, including events, encounters, performance work, and backend improvements.

That modernization work sounds like the biggest lift. ArenaNet says it plans to go back through older eras of Guild Wars 2, polish what it can, rebalance parts of the game, and address long-running player concerns while also improving client and server performance.

There is a tradeoff. Once Visions of Eternity wraps in September, Guild Wars 2 won’t get another major content update until after Guild Wars 3 launches. Davis said annual content updates are expected to return after that.

Guild Wars: Reforged is also part of the plan, with Steam Deck compatibility already in place and a mobile release still on the way. ArenaNet also scheduled a Guild Wars 2 Twitch stream to talk more about the franchise plans.

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