Place 12 – Guild Wars 2
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: ArenaNet | Platform: PC | Release Date: August 28, 2012 | Model: Free2Play
What is known about the total number of players? In August 2021, the officials from ArenaNet revealed during the 9th anniversary celebration that there are now more than 16 million accounts for Guild Wars 2 (via Reddit). With this number, the MMORPG has also promoted itself on its official website in subsequent years.
Fun fact (many thanks to our reader Aouglas for the link and to Grimbrok for the hint): In a trailer from November 2024 (via YouTube), the operators are now promoting with more than 20 million allies awaiting you in Tyria. This allows the MMORPG from ArenaNet to climb a place in the list.
Here you can see the launch trailer for the Reue update from Guild Wars 2:
What kind of game is this? Guild Wars 2 was released in 2012 as a Buy2Play MMORPG and the main game is still one of the best representatives of the genre that you can play. With the expansion Heart of Thorns in 2015, the base game of Guild Wars 2 became Free2Play, without ArenaNet changing anything about the business model such as the cash shop.
Thus, one of the highest-rated MMORPGs of all time is available for free. And Guild Wars 2 is indeed really good and continues to receive content. Most recently, for example, the Janthir Wilds expansion, which has brought a housing feature to Tyria, along with related content updates.
The MMORPG shines with the best mounts in the genre, a lovingly designed and dynamic world, and a horizontal character progression that is tailored for all casual gamers.
Who is this interesting for? Guild Wars 2 is the perfect MMORPG for collectors and explorers who want to explore a huge world at their own pace without time or progression pressure. While there are dungeons, raids, and PvP, other online role-playing games place a much greater emphasis on this area. However, there has just been reinforcements: Guild Wars 2 is receiving a major update with Reue that resolves a 20-year-old mystery
