Guild Wars 2 Teases Next Expansion, Makes Living World Season 1 Permanently Free
ArenaNet has published a rather lengthy Guild Wars 2 dev blog chock full of exciting news and announcements for the MMORPGs growing community. According to the studio, the number of active players has more than doubled over the past three years. The team also reports that the recently-released End of Dragons expansion has already outsold their previous expansion, Path of Fire.
On the subject of expansions, a fourth expansion has been confirmed although it’s going to be a while before we hear any news about it considering how far apart the expansion releases have been. In the meantime, the team says that they’re working on polishing End of Dragons and will be introducing new content in the near future. These include the Strike Mission Challenge Modes, Generation 3 Legendary Weapons, and a new Cantha zone with new story content.
Living World Season 1 will also be making another comeback, this time as permanent content. The first five episodes will be released over the remainder of the year, starting with “Flame and Frost” on April 19th.
“We’re excited for veteran players to be able to revisit the key moments of Living World Season 1 for the first time in nearly nine years and to give new players a better narrative introduction into the expansion and Living World content that follows it. Living World Season 1 will be a free addition to the base game for all players (including free accounts), forever.”
For Steam users, the promised Steam version is still in the works after it was put on the backburner in 2020 to allow the developers to focus on End of Dragons. ArenaNet says they’re eyeing a Steam launch this year but have aren’t ready to announce a hard date just yet.
“While the end of the Elder Dragon cycle might seem like a natural moment to start winding things down, we’re happy to say loudly and emphatically that Guild Wars 2 has a bright future ahead of it,” said the studio’s top brass.
The team concludes the dev blog with a rundown of major release dates for the next three months and their spring 2022 roadmap. You’ll find those right down below.
- March 15—End of Dragons Polish Build
- March 29—Super Adventure Festival, End of Dragons Polish Build
- April 19—Living World Season 1 Episode 1, Aetherblade Hideout Challenge Mode
- May 10—Xunlai Jade Junkyard Challenge Mode
- May 24—Living World Season 1 Episode 2, Kaineng Overlook Challenge Mode, New Legendary Weapon Variant
- June 7—Dragon Bash Festival, Harvest Temple Challenge Mode
- June 28—Balance Update, New Legendary Weapon Variant
