The Anticipated Guild Wars 2 Release Date
Ever since ArenaNet burst onto the scene in April 2005 with their game Guild Wars, many have been wondering how long it would take for a sequel to come out. After years of delays and months of speculation, a game was announced in 2007, but no release date was set. Fans are still wondering when the Guild Wars 2 release date is.
The much-anticipated sequel was announced to go into production in 2007. It was known that this would be a lengthy process but even the most patient of fans could not guess just how long the process would take. The development phase would take much longer than usual even after designers settled on what aspects to keep and which to make new in the sequel.
After those questions are answered there is the actual coding and graphics that need to be done. In today’s competitive gaming marketplace, these things can not be overlooked. If the graphics are shoddy nobody will buy the game. Therefore, this phase takes a long time as well.
Once the coding and graphics are complete, a testing phase must begin. Despite the engineer’s best work, there will always be bugs and things that need to be fixed before anything can be put out into the open market. After testing, those bugs must be worked out and then a second phase of testing can begin before release.
In 2008, ArenaNet announced the initial Alpha testing phase. This was abandoned in favor of more development and a new testing variation that would better serve their needs. The stockholders and fans of the original were not happy about this as the delays kept coming. It wouldn’t be until August of 2010 that a demo would be available to gamer conventions so fans could get a sneak peek.
Finally, a series of closed Alpha testing took place in 2011. Encouraged, ArenaNet then announced a Beta testing phase that would also be closed. No announcement of an actual release date was given at the time but the progress was at least encouraging. All anyone knew was that it would be out sometime in 2012.
Several more weeks passed with no word. Then, if February 2012 it was announced that invitations for a closed viewing and playing session would be given to a small group of gaming influencers and media professionals. It was later announced that those sessions would expand to include more people in March and April of the same year.
A few details about the game began to leak. The biggest one was that the sequel would employ the same one-time download of stories and packs instead of a flat monthly fee like so many other online games use. This was a very popular decision because that feature of the original was what many gamers loved about it. Flat fees are generally more pricey than one-time occasional downloads.
There is still no exact Guild Wars 2 release date. All anyone knows is that it will be in 2012 at some point. With the previews happening and two closed testing sessions complete, the hope is that an announcement will be sooner rather than later as fans are still anticipating this sequel.