Finally, there are new hints about the Steam release of Guild Wars 2. This is primarily aimed at attracting new players to the MMORPG, as existing players cannot participate on Steam. We at MeinMMO are looking into whether this can work.
When is GW2 coming to Steam? Currently, there is no official date for the Steam launch of the MMORPG, but some very good hints about the release are becoming clearer. On the morning of July 29th, there were significant changes on the Steam page for Guild Wars 2 (via Steam).
A reddit user took a closer look and actually discovered a release date in the API of the SteamDB website. August 23, 2022 is listed there. However, this alone is not sufficient reason to specify a fixed date and could just be a placeholder (via reddit).
What else suggests this? However, August 23 is also the exact 10th anniversary of Guild Wars 2. The MMORPG was released on the same day in 2012. Additionally, August 23 is marked as an important date on the official GW2 roadmap, along with the words “Gamescom Happy Hour”.
Neither developer ArenaNet nor publisher NCSoft are on the official exhibitor list of Gamescom, but Steam operator Valve is (via gameswirtschaft). All of this could currently indicate a reveal of the Steam release at Gamescom, making August 23 a likely Steam launch.
Even without Steam, Guild Wars 2 was already among the top 5 MMORPGs in Germany in 2021:
Guild Wars 2 becomes more appealing to new players
Who benefits from the Steam release? The MMORPG aims to become more relevant and noticeable primarily for completely new players. To this end, the developers are currently bringing back the first season of the Living World. This is special, as the practical beginning of the story has not been playable until now.
Additionally, the beginning of the leveling phase will be revised and made more beginner-friendly. Together with the Steam release and the transition to Free2Play in August 2015, the MMORPG will be more exciting for newcomers than ever before.
What doesn’t it bring? It is also interesting that the Steam launch seemingly only targets completely new players. If you already have a Guild Wars 2 account, you cannot play it with the Steam version of the game. A corresponding notice can be found on the GW2 Steam page.
In the game, everyone can still play together in the end, but linking a GW2 account and a Steam account seems impossible.
Nevertheless, active players are also looking forward to the launch on Steam. New players would do the 10-year-old MMORPG good. The accompanying innovations, such as the new beginning and the return of Season 1 of the Living World, are well received by the fans.
Will the Steam launch bring new players?
Assessment of the situation: Steam is an enormously popular platform among gaming and MMORPG fans. The fact that porting already running titles to Steam can also bring significant success has already been proven by other genre representatives such as Final Fantasy XIV, Black Desert, and The Elder Scrolls Online.
This is mainly because the entry barrier for new players decreases. At the same time, a title’s visibility increases thanks to Steam.
However, Guild Wars 2 has aged quite well. The MMORPG shows its 10 years in many places, and even some gameplay elements are simply not up to date and good after so many years.
It is unlikely that the Steam launch will be the great rebirth of Guild Wars 2. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the MMORPG will fare better in the long run, thanks to the release and the new players on Steam.
What do you think about it? Do you believe that the Steam launch is a great opportunity for Guild Wars 2, or do you rather assume that the MMORPG will fade on the platform? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments here on MeinMMO.
The fact that GW2 is so popular in Germany follows a trend that MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has examined more closely: German players love MMORPGs like GW2 and ESO, but don’t like Final Fantasy as much – What is the reason for this?
