In August 2018, the developers of Guild Wars 2 announced that there would be no new expansion in the foreseeable future. Instead, they are focusing on the Living World, which is intended to bring the same content. However, the layoffs from last week now paint a different picture.
Update March 12, 2020: ArenaNet has now officially announced a third expansion. However, it is said to still be in the early stages of development.
The announcement of Living World Season 5: For the sixth anniversary, the developers released a video about Guild Wars 2, in which they informed players that they want to transition directly into another season after Living World Season 4.
At the same time, Game Director Mike Zadorojny emphasized that the content updates will also bring features that would otherwise only be reserved for an expansion.
These are the doubts of the community: Players reacted skeptically to this announcement. Expansions attract new players and are usually associated with a greater financial advantage.
In light of the current situation surrounding the layoffs, the community may have had reason for their doubts.
Why was an expansion rejected?
Many players wondered back in August why an expansion was decided against. The current events might provide an answer.
Too few developers for an expansion? Last week, ArenaNet experienced layoffs. The reason for this was a decline in revenues, but also delays in new projects.
These layoffs also affected some familiar faces from the Guild Wars 2 development. However, Game Director Zadorojny later stated that to compensate, some former developers are returning to Guild Wars 2.
ArenaNet had a different focus: The studio behind Guild Wars 2 was apparently also working on several projects, from which employees were quietly pulled away.
Which projects these were exactly has not been disclosed so far. However, it is likely that these projects had an influence on the plans for Guild Wars 2.
Living World Season 5 is coming: However, even after the layoffs, the developers are sticking to their plans and continuing the story with a fifth season.
As it stands, we will have to do without an expansion for the entire year of 2019 and at least the first half of 2020.
Living World instead of expansion – Can this work?
What is the Living World? Every 2-4 months, Guild Wars 2 releases a content patch. These updates typically include:
- A new map
- New achievements and rewards
- The continuation of the game’s story
- Irregular innovations such as skins, legendary weapons, fractals, or raids
As these updates build upon each other narratively, they are collected in a season of the Living World.
Over the years, ArenaNet also changed the structure of the Living World. While in 2013/14 emphasis was placed on actual changes occurring on old maps, the story now progresses on new maps.
This is what our author Alex thinks:
While I am a big fan of the Living World, the content of these seasons has never been able to compete with an expansion.
Differences between updates and expansions: While the Living World has a consistent structure of story and maps, expansions typically refresh with innovative ideas and a structure that flows from the first to the last map.
One reason for this could lie in the coordination of the teams. Guild Wars 2 has several teams for the Living World, who work closely together, but ultimately each works individually on the episodes.
The team for addons, on the other hand, develops the content together. This makes the expansions in Guild Wars 2 so far feel very coherent, while the Living World always seems a bit fragmented.
I found the transition between a season of the Living World and an expansion very pleasant. It built anticipation over two years for a completely new setting, while also allowing regular updates to be played in the meantime.
This is the dilemma with new players: Moreover, it is difficult for new players to find their footing in the MMORPG or even to become aware of the game at all. An expansion always provides a good entry point and refocuses external attention on the game.
Conclusion: I hope that ArenaNet manages to produce a spectacular Living World Season 5 and keep existing players engaged. Afterwards, however, an expansion will be necessary, as this is the only way the game can stay afloat financially.
Currently, Guild Wars remains the only game of the studio, and in the long run, that is a big risk. Also for the remaining 250 developers.
