ArenaNet revealed Guild Wars 3 as the next MMO in the Guild Wars series, set roughly 1,200 years before the original game launched in 2005 [1, 2]. Studio head Colin Johanson said the MMO genre has become "stagnated," and the team plans to "fearlessly charge forward and try a bunch of new ideas" to push it forward [1].
Guild Wars 3 will introduce unique movement mechanics focused on momentum transfer between actions to create more fluid and dynamic gameplay [1]. Its combat will blend action RPG elements and target both PC and PlayStation 5 players to expand the franchise's platform reach [1, 2].
The game will follow the series’ established buy-to-play model with no subscription fees or battlepasses. Johanson stated, "There won’t be any battlepasses because we think players are sick of those too" [2].
While developing Guild Wars 3, ArenaNet will continue supporting Guild Wars 2 [2]. The studio plans the first beta test for Guild Wars 3 in autumn 2027, aiming to fine-tune the game before release [2]. Improvements and updates for Guild Wars 2 are also expected by the end of that year [2].
