Heart of Thorns is due for release on October 23rd. Guild Wars 2 will remain the same game it always has been." We’re not changing the way people purchase cosmetic items or adding a bunch of new items in the store. "This is about making the base game available for everyone to try because we believe that when people love Guild Wars 2 they’re going to buy Heart of Thorns.
"If people are expecting we’re going to go in and heavily monetize free players now, that’s not what this is about," he writes. Perhaps for this reason, O’Brien stresses that Guild Wars 2 going free isn't about money. Here's a trailer for those:Īfter pricing plans were announced for Heart of Thorns back in June, ArenaNet took flak from the community for not offering any discounts for players who owned the base game. This awarded item comes bundled with various items and a free shared inventory slot, and allows underleveled characters to preview max-level play before committing to consuming the boost. Of course, new players coming into Guild Wars 2's base game also means new potential high-level players who might, down the road, decide to purchase the expansion.Īlongside the announcement of Guild Wars 2 going free, ArenaNet have also announced that the expansion has raids. The Level-80 Boost is an item awarded to players who purchase Guild Wars 2 expansions. Especially, since Heart of Thorns adds a lot of endgame content, in those earlier areas of the game that risk becoming depopulated. Guild Wars 2 already has some microtransactions in it, of course, but it seems as if the decision to take Guild Wars 2 free is more likely about keeping player numbers high. Here's a trailer announcing the game's shift to free:
"We believe in buy to play, and we know that when people describe something as free-to-play that comes with expectations." Those expectations are that free-to-play games require heavy microtransactions, but O'Brien say that Guild Wars 2 will remain the same as it always was - and the expansion, Heart of Thorns, will still have an entry fee when it releases later this year. "We’re not using the words free-to-play with Guild Wars 2," says ArenaNet president and co-founder Mike O'Brien when I talk to him about the changes via email.