ArenaNet have formally announced that Guild Wars will be entering automation, ceasing any further content updates and only focusing on maintenance. It’s been eight long years, Guild Wars released back in 2005 and saw explosive growth thanks to it’s Guild vs Guild (GvG) tournaments. Only a small amount of staff will stay with the game as ArenaNet shift their focus over to their equally successful sequel, Guild Wars 2.
In a post on the official Guild Wars website, ArenaNet explain their decision.
“Over time, our focus has shifted to updates that not only help maintain Guild Wars but help the game maintain itself. With this focus in mind, we’ll no longer be releasing any new content for the live game except in support of automation.” said ArenaNet. “Our goal is to get the game to a place where it can continue to run and be available to all of our fans. We have a lot of love for Guild Wars – it’s the game that made us what we are today – and we want to continue sharing it with everyone!”
This also means that there will be no new content, but the game will still continue exactly as it is.
“I want to make sure that players correctly understand our intentions behind these changes and the overall push for automation. As I’ve said, we want the game to be in a place where it’s able to take care of itself.” stated the post. “While we will not be producing new content, the Live Team will still be around to perform critical fixes for crashes or other serious issues.”
Automated tournaments will now roll out without any need for the live team to intervene, providing endless PvP and GvG matches. Weekend events now extend all week long on a completely automated cycle. Annual festivals will now use a token system to award players with one of the special items the event offers. Finally birthday presents which are awarded annually to each character will give players a ticket to exchange for any of the previous presents.
All of this will provide a huge helping hand in those aiming to complete their Hall of Monuments for cool rewards in Guild Wars 2. Veterans will likely see no change to their routine play, which mostly comprises of PvP. As for new players, this will open up a lot more content from the get go without putting in huge amounts of time to attain it.
What are your best memories of Guild Wars?
Thanks Massively.