Guild Wars 2 is doing great – that’s why there is now a strong investment in eSports.
Doubling the Player Count and eSports Plans
Shortly before the release of “Heart of Thorns,” ArenaNet decided to make the base game of Guild Wars 2 free to play – essentially Free2Play. According to SuperData Research’s CEO, Joost van Dreunen, this had an outstanding effect on the player base of GW2. While there were “only” 1.5 million players roaming Tyria in August 2015, this number rose to 3.1 million by October 2015 – that’s more than a doubling!
ArenaNet wants to leverage this upswing and especially expand the area of eSports. That it has potential and is incredibly interesting for viewers is shown, for example, by the access figures on Twitch. Here, Guild Wars 2 consistently ranks in the top 20, with occasional surges upwards, such as at the announcement of Heart of Thorns.
To establish Guild Wars 2 as an eSport, changes have also been made in the game. There are different leagues in which players can qualify. Similar to football, at the end of a season, the top 2 teams are promoted to the next higher league, while the two worst teams are relegated.
Whether this is just a brief upswing or can establish itself as a long-term success will be shown in the coming months and with the first major tournaments.
