What will happen to Guild Wars when GW2 launches?

This is a question that many of us still playing Guild Wars are asking both ourselves and those ingame. There is a genuine concern for the possible drop in server population once Guild Wars 2 goes live. I don't think that the population will totally disappear, but I do think that saying that there will not be a noticeable difference is naive at best. Now they have come out and said that there will still be new content and events going on in the future for the original Guild Wars while they are still doing GW2. As one that can't afford to pick up any new game in the near future due to lack of available funds, it is nice to see that the game I'm currently playing does infact have a future.


A little bit to know about Guild Wars future:

The development team at ArenaNet realized, at the time they started work on the fourth Guild Wars campaign, that there were so many things they wanted to do but couldn't fit into the existing game. They decided that making Guild Wars 2 was the best way for them to do what they wanted to the game.

Can I keep on playing Guild Wars?

Yes. ArenaNet has stated that the Guild Wars servers will stay open after GW2 is released. There will continue to be special events and patches for players who stay playing Guild Wars.

Are there going to be any more expansions for Guild Wars?

ArenaNet has already released some small expansions that help bridge the gap in the story between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2; these do not require purchase to access. A third storyline has been plotted for development. Full, purchasable expansions haven't been entirely ruled out, but they seem unlikely. If they are created, it will not happen until after the release of Guild Wars 2

Can I transfer a Guild Wars character to Guild Wars 2?

No, character transfers between the games are not possible. However, you can reserve your existing Guild Wars character names for use in Guild Wars 2.

So at the very least, we do know that we will be able to enjoy our current incarnation, but the real concern is, will people come back to still play GW while still playing GW2. I think that the answer will be yes, and for a rather simple reason. Unlike many MMOs, there is no monthly fee to play, so you can freely play both games without any financial strain, which is why many people end up leaving a game in the first place. I will keep an update here as the game goes on after GW2s launch. So until then....Game On!