The next expansion for Guild Wars 2 has already been leaked. The head of the studio doesn’t find it very funny. He warns of the consequences of such leaks.
The next expansion for Guild Wars 2 is in the air – and it has been for quite some time. Since early 2016, a dedicated team from ArenaNet has been developing the next expansion, and it could appear as early as 2017 if everything goes smoothly.
ArenaNet wants to keep the expansion under wraps and aims to direct all attention to the “Living Story.” Episode 5 has been released, with Episode 6 coming in two or three months. ArenaNet would prefer fans to only discuss that until then.
The problem: Ahead of Episode 5, a major “leak” about the expansion has emerged, which reveals a lot in advance. Fans are excited – this is now significantly more thrilling for many than Episode 5 “Crisis Point.”
Shortly after the leak went live, there was a Q&A session with the developers regarding Episode 5 on reddit. During this, ArenaNet’s head Mike O’Brien at least indirectly addressed the leak. Typically, developer studios do not comment on such leaks. O’Brien’s statements also clarify why.
Guild Wars 2: The head warns of leaks
O’Brien explains the difficulties with leaks:
While they are pleased that players are so enthusiastic and can hardly wait to see what happens in the next expansion.
However, they can also ruin the surprise. If you already know everything about an expansion beforehand, you are not wonderfully surprised when the expansion is officially announced and presented.
Furthermore, the experience is no longer fresh when you actually play through the content.
If someone wants to unwrap all their gifts early, they should do that, but they should not take that decision away from others.
Leaks make it difficult for Guild Wars 2 to reach new players and generate news
The problem is that things become “public knowledge” very quickly, and thus the surprise diminishes – games should be played and not read about beforehand.
Furthermore, it is difficult for ArenaNet to promote the game when they no longer have material for reveals, as everything is already known. Leaks make it hard to reach new players. To attract new players to Guild Wars 2 in 2017, ads alone wouldn’t suffice – a strong community is needed to market the game, articles in the press, an “exciting hype,” and word-of-mouth.
Interest in the leak also shows a specific problem of Guild Wars 2
Mein-MMO states: Basically, based on O’Brien’s statements, one can assume that the leak is true. It was detailed and plausible enough that there really is no doubt left.
It is understandable what O’Brien says. This also shows a specific problem of Guild Wars 2. Hardly anyone is interested in the episodes of the Living World – this is only of interest to active players. On the other hand, many people who used to play Guild Wars 2 are interested in an expansion and may consider coming back.
Clearly, ArenaNet would prefer to talk about the current content – but the interest in the next expansion is higher. Perhaps O’Brien should also take this as a hint to change from the episodic “Living World” to another update structure. Because those who have missed Episodes 1 to 4 in Guild Wars 2 won’t start with Episode 5 anew. Not to mention those who have already dropped out by Season 1 or 2.
The question is also: How can such detailed leaks about Guild Wars 2 appear months before the release of the expansion? Something clearly went wrong.
In other games, a date might be revealed just days before a reveal, or some keywords might be known beforehand, but a leak of this magnitude and accuracy a half year before release? That is quite rare.
For comparison: A Destiny 2 has significantly more attention than Guild Wars 2 – and the gameplay reveal for Destiny 2 is only 2 weeks away, not 2 months like for the GW2 expansion. But we still know almost nothing about Destiny 2. With Guild Wars 2, we already know many details.
The leak that O’Brien is referring to is discussed here:
Guild Wars 2 by ArenaNet revolutionizes the genre like no other MMORPG with its ideas. A one-time purchase is enough to be captivated by the atmosphere – no sub...
