Guild Wars 3, bay-bee!
Yup, it’s real. Guild Wars is getting its third incarnation, as announced at Summer Game Fest today. It’s planned for a Steam and PS5 release sometime in the future, and there’s a beta beginning in fall 2027. You can register to get a chance to enter the beta at the official website once it goes live (likely any minute now).
We don’t know much else about what’s coming in Guild Wars 3, just that it’ll be another MMORPG and will continue to take place in the fantasy world of Tyria. Onstage, ArenaNet studio head Colin Johanson said that the new Guild Wars would focus on the “joy of movement” and that its combat would “usher in an entirely-new type of MMO experience.” We have no idea what that means just yet, but given how heavily movement mechanics featured in Guild Wars 2, this could be something pretty cool.
Guild Wars 2 has been going since August of 2012, so there’s no arguing that it’s a good time to move to a new version. Since its launch, it’s seen six expansions: Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, End of Dragons, Secrets of the Obscure, Janthir Wilds, and Visions of Eternity. While it’s never quite reached the heights of popularity that World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV have seen, Guild Wars 2 has remained stable and successful for over a decade now, with continuously positive critical response and, blessedly, no monthly subscription cost.
Honestly, this might pull me back into Guild Wars when the time comes. I’m a one-MMORPG-at-a-time girlie and World of Warcraft is my poison of choice, but I love the Sylvari, the dynamic Guild Wars 2 combat system, and the lovely world of Tyria. 2027 is far enough away that I can clear my schedule, right?