Guild Wars 3 is ‘significantly more’ of an MMO than the first game, but that doesn’t mean it’s like GW2: ‘All three of our games can coexist as different experiences’
ArenaNet has confirmed that Guild Wars 3 will be “definitively an MMO,” though it won’t replicate the design philosophy of either predecessor. According to studio head Colin Johanson, the upcoming title will be “significantly more” of an MMO than the original Guild Wars, which functioned primarily as a mission-based action RPG with shared town hubs despite its MMO-like social features and extensive class roster.
The studio emphasized that despite GW3’s MMO classification, it will differentiate itself from Guild Wars 2, one of the industry’s most successful MMOs. Johanson stated that all three games can “coexist as different experiences,” suggesting ArenaNet is positioning each entry as a distinct offering rather than a direct replacement or evolution of its predecessors.
With Guild Wars 3, ArenaNet appears to be charting a new course that embraces traditional MMO elements while maintaining its own identity separate from both the original’s lighter approach and GW2’s established live-service ecosystem.