In some shocking news from PAX this week, Guild Wars 2 has been changed to a free to play model. Any player can sign up for a free account and play most, if not all, of the core game. The way ArenaNet is looking to make profit out of this venture, however, is by hoping fans will go on to buy upcoming expansions, including the latest one in development, Heart of Thorns.
In an interview with PCGamer, ArenaNet president Mike O’Brien stated, “We believe that if people love Guild Wars 2, they’re gonna buy the expansion pack. The expansion pack is such great value. There’s so much content, not only in the expansion pack but in all the free updates that will come past that.”
Any future updates to the game will be sold in upcoming expansions, including raids, level increase etc. Players using this new free to play model will have less account storage, only able to create a whisper conversation once every 30 seconds and will only be allowed to participate in World vs. World mode at level 60.
While Guild Wars 2 did change quite a few things to the usual MMORPG game design, it wasn’t enough to be a success, it would seem. Free to play doesn’t always mean a bad thing, though; this way the game will gain more of a community, though ArenaNet’s ideals on expansions is a lot of positive thinking on their part.
Are you a fan of Guild Wars 2? Let us know what you think of this news in the comments.
