Guild Wars 2 is a fantasy MMORPG that has been running, almost to the day, for ten years. Do you even remember life ten years ago? I was freshly 20 and was actively trying to get everyone in my life into Guild Wars, from my friends and my mom to my partner. Little did we know, we’d still actively be playing ten years on.
Now, a whole new audience has the chance to get caught up in the game. As part of the game’s 10th anniversary, it’s coming to Steam and as of the 23rd of August, Guild Wars 2 will officially be available on the platform.
Guild Wars 2 on Steam will still retain its free-to-play / subscription-less model, and in case you’re worried about the game being dead, don’t be – Steam players and those using the original client will be sharing the same servers. One of the nice things about the game on Steam is that a “Complete Edition” is available.
The Complete Edition bundle all three Guild Wars 2 expansions and all five of its living seasons into a clean once-off purchase of $99.97 (roughly R1650), which sounds like a large amount of money. Still, it’s not bad if you consider that it’s all ten years of content. Also, thanks to Guild Wars 2’s design, all the content unlocked through this purchase will still be relevant.
ArenaNet has been quietly preparing for its Steam debut over the last few months. It has introduced many tweaks and quality of life upgrades for all. One of the most significant changes is to the games mount system. Previously, players could only unlock mounts when they started the Path of Fire or End of Dragons expansion stories; however, new players will now unlock their first mount just by levelling up in the base game.
Any player with the expansions unlocked will be gifted with their first mount, a raptor, when they reach level 10. Players who don’t own the expansions will receive the same mount, but only as part of a 10-hour trial to play around with it.
It’s not hard to see why Guild Wars 2 has consistently been hailed as one of the best MMOs. Ten years on, Guild Wars 2 has a player base of 16 million, and ArenaNet is still supporting the game with constant updates, festivals, and expansions. With a fourth expansion recently announced.
Now, thanks to the game being on Steam, an entirely new audience has the chance to discover one of the best fantasy worlds in gaming. To celebrate Guild Wars 2 arriving on Steam, ArenaNet is introducing Twitch Drops. Viewers can now earn in-game rewards like experience boosters, exclusive cosmetics and outfits just by watching the game being streamed from the 23rd to the 28ty of August.
What do you think about Guild Wars 2 heading to Steam? Will you use this as an excuse to dive back in or maybe even pick up the game for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.