NCSoft Co-CEO Confirms Guild Wars 3 Is Currently in Development

"I just hope they keep what makes GW2 stand out amid all the other MMOs. I love how the game make players cooperate in an organic fashion. Not a fan of the "game is hard, so you better party-up" that games like WoW Classic have," wrote one worried Redditor. Others voiced fears that development on GW2's ongoing live service could slowly wind down as ArenaNet inevitably shifts resources to the newly-confirmed sequel.

However, the very existence of Guild Wars 3 can also be viewed as undeniable proof of the lasting success and profitability of the long-running IP under ArenaNet's stewardship. Why stake the franchise's future on a full sequel if the games-as-a-service model wasn't consistently driving revenue? It might not always work for other games (looking at you, RuneScape), but it seems to work for Guild Wars.

Unsurprisingly, details are basically nonexistent about what Guild Wars 3 will entail or when it will be released. Following tradition, it could take the series hundreds of years into the future with a new, persistent world to explore. Or perhaps it will be even more ambitious, venturing into a different universe or plane of existence after wrapping up the core Guild Wars saga.

Evidence has also emerged that ArenaNet may be rebuilding the game in Unreal Engine 5, a technical upgrade that could finally bring top-of-the-line visuals to match the series' masterful art direction and worldbuilding. Combined with new gameplay systems learned from GW2's evolution, Guild Wars 3 has a clear opportunity to once again redefine what an MMORPG can be.

For now, though, players have NCSoft's word that the eternal alchemy does indeed continue onward. While it may be years before anyone outside ArenaNet gets to see it, hard work on Guild Wars 3 is finally happening behind closed doors.