Guild Wars 2 is one of the most popular and successful MMORPGs in the West. However, in recent years, the game has stumbled a bit. We look at where Guild Wars 2 stands at the end of 2019.
How did 2019 go? The current year will be remembered somewhat negatively by many Guild Wars 2 fans. Almost every month there was some controversy, but very few of them were positive. The most painful were likely the mass layoffs.
However, there were also discussions regarding new content between the players and the developers. There was discontent regarding the Gem Store, build templates, the announcement in August, and even the new episode that was released in November.
We look back at the year and draw a conclusion regarding Guild Wars 2 at the end of the article.
Mass Layoffs in Spring
How did the year start for Guild Wars 2? On January 8, the episode “Everything or Nothing” was released. It was praised for its long-term content concerning the Dwarven Treasures, the new Fractal, and the small quality of life changes.
However, the positive mood quickly shifted when the popular farm event in Istan was nerfed at the end of January. Players wondered why this nerf came 15 months after the area was released and what it aimed to achieve.
What was the biggest shock? In February 2019, the layoff of nearly a third of the entire studio occurred, resulting in more than 100 employees losing their jobs. Reasons included:
- Declines in revenue
- Increasing costs in the West
- Delays in upcoming projects
Game Director Mike Zadarojny reassured players that upcoming content would be released as planned and that some familiar faces who had been working on other projects in the background would now be reassigned to GW2. Allegedly, ArenaNet was working on at least two other projects besides the MMORPG, one of which was said to have been scrapped due to the layoffs.
Former developer Josh Foreman, who was affected by the layoffs, also spoke about a potential positive development for the MMORPG due to the layoffs.
Roadmap and First Content Drought
What happened after the layoffs? In April 2019, Guild Wars 2 published a kind of roadmap for the first time since release. This was meant to reassure players and show them what was currently being worked on.
The content included long-expressed wishes such as build templates and adjustments for PvP and WvW. And the roadmap indeed provided some relief, even though no specific dates were provided.
When was the next patch released? At the start of the fourth season in November 2017, it was said that new story episodes would be released every 2 to 3 months. Due to the layoffs, the final episode “Eternal War” was significantly delayed. Players had to wait more than 5 months for the release, which finally came on May 14.
What else happened in summer 2019? The newly released legendary runes and sigils, which only brought convenience features, were heavily criticized. The main criticism point was the cost, which sometimes exceeded that of legendary equipment.
Additionally, there were two innovations that were positively received by players:
- In June, the Dragon Brawl returned, an event that was last in the game in 2013.
- There was also the first expansion for professions since 2013. Cooking was raised to 500.
In August, the developers planned to announce the new season of the Living World at a large event during Pax West. Players were very excited, as addon content for the season was also planned.
Highlight of the Year Turns into a Debacle
How did the big announcement go? In the approximately 30-minute event, Game Director Mike Z. and various developers discussed the overall content of the season and the first two episodes. Approximately 32,000 people were watching.
The basic content was well received by players, but it was in their eyes far too little to justify such an event. Players missed in the announcement:
- Elite specializations
- Raids
- Content for PvP and WvW
- Something completely new that other seasons didn’t have
As a result, the actual highlight of the year turned into a debacle, and in the end, both players and developers were equally down.
What else went wrong? The build templates announced in April, which many players had been waiting for since the release of Guild Wars 2, also generated negative headlines. They were released at the end of October and are closely linked to the Gem Store.
Thus, only 3 storage slots are available for free per character. Others must be purchased. Additionally, the maximum number of storage slots is still below what players had expected. There are only 6 slots per character and an additional 24 account-wide slots, but these must be loaded into one of the six slots.
A complicated and also very expensive system. Improvements have since been promised. The first change is supposed to appear this year, while others will not come until spring 2020.
What’s the status on new content? On November 19, the new update “Whispers in the Dark” was released. While the prologue in September was well received, player feedback on the new episode was mainly negative. It mainly lacks:
- Challenge
- Replay value
- Story content, which this time was even shorter than in previous episodes.
Missing raids and fractals were also criticized. The last raid was released in May 2019 and was quickly finished, while the last fractal appeared on January 8, 2019.
President and Developers Gone – Are They Leaving the Sinking Ship?
What were other controversies in 2019? Throughout 2019, not only well-known developers were laid off, but many also left voluntarily. The most notable figure is likely the president Mike O’Brien, the last remaining founder of ArenaNet.
He announced his departure on October 3 and founded a new studio, with which he presumably wants to develop an MMO. 6 other developers from Guild Wars 2 followed him to the new studio.
In November 2019, more familiar faces followed, including:
- Crystal Reid, raid designer – moved to Bungie
- Jason Reynolds, member of the raid and fractal team
Many players feel confirmed by the departures that no new fractals and raids will come into the game in the near future.
Guild Wars 2 – Where Do You Stand at the End of 2019?
What our author Alexander Leitsch says: Layoffs, many discrepancies with the players, greater focus on the shop, and a president leaving the company. 2019 was a hard year for Guild Wars 2.
In reddit, there were players expecting the discontinuation of the MMORPG in 2020 or 2021 among the latest bad news and discussions. I wouldn’t go that far.
Guild Wars 2 is still generating stable quarterly figures and is currently even earning more than in the first quarters of 2017. Furthermore, NCSoft was also very lenient with Wildstar. Although the MMORPG generated less than 1 million dollars in revenue per quarter for over a year, it continued to operate.
The developers promised to regularly release new episodes, which could explain why the latest release was smaller. A quick second episode that also sensibly complements the newest area could change a lot about the negative atmosphere.
But one problem with ArenaNet is that they promise a lot and deliver slowly, often taking too long for everything. An example is the big WvW update, announced in February 2018 and still not released.
Moreover, many good systems feel half-baked. For instance, regular bonus weeks were introduced in April, which started well but were subsequently heavily criticized for being too monotonous. These often revolved only around completing world events or defeating world bosses. These bonus events are no longer occurring.
To steer Guild Wars 2 back on the right track, new content is needed that binds players longer again. Good and challenging meta-events, challenging fractals with a challenge mode and achievements, and an area that contains many puzzles and tasks.
The fact that so many players are still discussing and complaining, and that they and I have ideas on how to “save” the MMORPG, is a very good sign for me. As long as the game has a fanbase and is being played, further development is worthwhile.
For me, Guild Wars 2 is still one of the best MMORPGs on the market today, even though it is currently struggling. The only question is whether they will still manage to turn things around or only work towards a consistent ending in the coming years.
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