Beyond gameplay, the unexpected inclusivity is what attracted me as a budding MMO enthusiast. While Prophecies and its expansions—“Eye of the North” and “Factions”– were inspired by European and Asian cultures (overwhelmingly common and have been for decades in the MMO scene), its successor, Guild Wars Nightfall, released the following year, was the first time I saw an MMO explore fantasy in an Afrocentric setting. 

Nightfall pulled inspiration from multiple African and Arab cultures: Kush, Ancient Egyptian, and Maghreb to name a few, and broadened the playable classes to include the Dervish, the magical, scythe-wielding warrior class. Cosmetic options were expanded as well, with more Black hairstyles and phenotypically accurate features that doubled down on the franchise’s explicit inclusion of diversity and representation. My loyalty to Guild Wars crystallised from that moment forward; I could be the Black element-wielding mage I’ve always wanted to be.

I wasn’t alone in my resonance. By 2009, Guild Wars had sold over 6.5 million units. So when ArenaNet announced Guild Wars 2 in 2007, promising the same commitment to filling gaps in the MMO experience—both culturally and mechanically—anticipation had years to build. When the sequel finally released in 2012, it sold over 2 million copies in its first week, no subscription required. 

Fans and critics widely agreed, Guild Wars 2 was a breath of fresh air and no small feat. It is a living and meaty, open-world experience that not only gave us more of Tyria to explore (a vast open map with over 60 seamless zones), but more ways to experience it, with new systems, verticality and mechanics that surpassed the original by multitudes. 

Weapon and attunement switching made each class’ kill set extremely varied and adaptable. Thankfully, the developers remembered that mages have feet. Running whilst simultaneously dodging or casting created a more fluid and engaging combat sequence, making it feel superior—not only to its predecessor, but many other (dare I say most) MMOs on the market at the time.

The new Dynamic Events system replaced the typical static quest-giver system, where an NPC is affixed in a place to fulfil their sole purpose of giving a quest. Instead, Tyria was filled with moments players would stumble upon in order to lend their aid while travelling; protecting the locals from an antagonistic faction, or escorting a caravan as it journeys towards the nearest town. 

You no longer stop to read a wall of text explaining that someone is being robbed; no more, hold on a minute, I’m just going to read this scroll on how to help you. You’re immediately thrown into the scene to jump in and help out the other players.

And for the first time in the franchise, the battle also no longer stopped at the shore; underwater battle combat was introduced along with aquatic exploration. When submerged, weapons adapted to underwater functionality: fireballs became magma rocks, and sand and mud could be used to blind enemies—instead of smoke or powder as on land, adding a cherry on top on the immersion front. 

As an Elementalist, I felt particularly more active in combat.The class is no longer a group of powerful, yet static Area of Effect (AoE) casters; we became active and aggressive participants in battle to be feared in close proximity. Between this and the exploration the open world granted me, Guild Wars 2 reinforced the feeling I had when I found a homebase within the MMO genre with its predecessor.  

But as the years passed, I fell off.

As the “Living World” expansions continued (there are now six in the series), I had less time to dedicate and began feeling more and more confused by the ever-developing lore, including additional currencies, relics, and artefacts. Feeling reminded of my confusion before finding GW, I eventually left GW2. When I returned some years later, the experience I had as a day-one player was vastly different from the newer, updated free-to-play experience. I couldn’t quite jump back in. 

Surveying the community yet again, I wasn’t alone in my detachment from Guild Wars 2. Several players across the interwebs noticed that player retention had taken a hit, giving GW2 the reputation of being a “revolving door.”  

However, the issue may not be specific to ArenaNet. As the years go by, the position of MMORPGs in gaming is changing, with several of us asking more generally: Are MMOs dying? And maybe dying is extreme; maybe “niching down” is the better term. The genre is still rife with stereotypical narratives, high demands on players’ time, outdated, grindy mechanics, and glacial development timelines, which make the genre’s evolution much slower in comparison to its competitors. Slower evolution means an increased chance of not meeting contemporary players’ expectations, which are wildly different from those of OG gamers who were around during MMOs’ heyday over two decades ago. 

And let’s not forget the cancellations. Live service development of Destiny 2 has stopped and Bungie has laid off “most of the team, despite having an unprecedented 167,000 players on Steam alone during the studio’s Monument of Triumph celebration, a permanent, loot-filled event launched in June. New World: Aeturnum couldn’t sustain momentum and will be officially offline from all platforms starting January 2027. 

A project I was particularly excited for, a sandbox MMORPG titled Ashes of Creation, essentially crashed (and burned) in a messy explosion of layoffs, lawsuits, and fraud allegations after raising $3.25 million with over 19,000 backers. 

When you juxtapose a genre that feels like it’s hanging on by the wisps of nostalgia with swift and disappointing decisions made by corporate teams, it’s no wonder why MMO fans are jaded. 

But now the catwalk is clear for ArenaNet to strut like that baddie it is.

The Washington-based studio has long proven its dedication to innovating not just its own games, but the MMO genre as a whole–which makes the announcement of Guild Wars 3, coming to PC and (drumroll please) PlayStation 5, the franchise’s console release, that much sweeter. 

Predictions and excitement arrived long before the studio’s announcement of its third installment to the franchise at this year’s Summer Game Fest. ArenaNet highlighted that it will continue to maintain the title’s first two predecessors as well, as each game is intended to be its own unique experience.  

GW3 is not a sequel, however, but rather a prequel set 1,000 years before the events of the first Guild Wars. This also means the Sylvari that emerged in 1302 AE and were introduced in Guild Wars 2 will not be playable, as revealed in a recent blog post. 

In another blog post published in early June, Colin Johanson, Studio Director of ArenaNet, noted that GW3 will land square in the middle of the MMO spectrum by integrating all the features that made Guild Wars 2 memorable, and improving what didn’t. Having our issues addressed, like inventory clutter, lack of player guidance, and particle effect stacking, is an encouraging thought as a now seasoned vet and a step in the right direction of creating an evolutionary MMO.

And let’s not forget about the hair featured in the upcoming installation. A notoriously less discussed topic, hair texture diversity in the GW2 base game was an issue for me. There was minimal variety until the release of the “Path of Fire” expansion, which also expanded character creation swatches to include additional Black and Asian-inspired hairstyles and phenotypical facial features. Nonetheless, we still had to wait for these options, repeating the same old notion that melanated gamers should metaphorically get in line and wait for the chance to feel equally represented. 

But if there’s anything ArenaNet does well, it’s learning from its past. The devs are master evaluators of their own work and their competitors’. GW3’s announcement trailer depicts a character with a beautifully-sponged afro riding a mount through a breathtaking, verdant environment, then scaling a wall (introducing the new continuous momentum physics mechanic) to reach his companions, seemingly including a furry asura. While we have very little information in terms of gameplay, Guild Wars 3 is already showing much-needed promise. 

GW3 seems to be shaping up as a far more refined MMO model, sitting slap-bang in the middle of GW and GW2. While some worry about the devs overworking the game, I believe it was the smart decision to continue nurturing GW2, in the case players desired a familiar experience on a larger scale. And because of ArenaNet’s continuous dedication and skilled assessment to their work and the genre, Guild Wars 3 could be evolutionary. 

I wait with bated breath to be shown more details ahead of its release in Autumn 2027, and to get another hit of that early 2000s, falling in love with Tyria and MMOs feeling all over again.