Not a week ago, we reported on the loss of two developers from Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet, a lead game designer and a lead writer. Now it appears another dev has left the building, and it’s a blow not only to Guild Wars 2 but to Guild Wars as well.
We’re talking here about programmer Bill Freist, who might actually be most revered to fans for his hefty work on the classic title last year, when he was one of an apparent pair of ArenaNet devs who pushed through big updates to the otherwise-maintenance-moded game that included a graphics update and inventory buffs. Freist had been with ArenaNet since 2011; it’s not clear where he’s off to next, nor what that means for the future of the still-alive original game.
The GirlWars YouTube channel has a touching tribute to Freist already for those who wanted a more detailed look at what he did for the franchise; the community is also trying to organize a farewell event for him (it looks like it’s shaping up for Saturday, September 21st).
It’s all a bit of a bummer since Guild Wars 2’s Icebrood Saga prologue, Bound by Blood, is going over rather well in the community since its launch yesterday. You can get an overview of what to expect from our own first impressions from our most recent Flameseeker Chronicles column.
