I'm thrilled by the announcement of Guild Wars 3, but there's a little voice in my head that keeps whispering "you know you won't have time for a new MMO." It's a fear that ArenaNet seems keenly aware of as it begins to set expectations for the sequel, which plans to begin beta testing in 2027.
In a blog post this week, ArenaNet laid out several things that it believes are the "core philosophy" of Guild Wars 3: no subscriptions, no pay-to-win, respecting your time, and evolving the MMO genre.
"Historically, MMO engagement has been viewed as an experience like a second job, where players spend large amounts of time preparing to have fun before they can actually engage in the fun parts," ArenaNet says. "Only have thirty minutes to play? Don't play an MMO; you'll need that time just to organize your inventory, figure out what content you're going to play, get your character set up, and—oh, no! Time's up, and you haven't even begun the gameplay yet."
The "preparing to play" problem, specifically inventory organizing, is exactly what made m...
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