So you folks remember when Guild Wars 2 was planning to launch on Steam, right? It was originally announced way back in 2020 and planned for November 2020. Then it was delayed indefinitely as the team decided to put all its focus on End of Dragons instead. (The expansion’s success showed this was the right call.) But now that End of Dragons is behind us, that means Steam is back on the table, right?
Yep! In fact, it’s coming pretty dang soon: ArenaNet announced this morning that the Steam launch is queued up for August 23rd, next week, which conveniently coincides with the game’s 10th anniversary. Steam players will be playing alongside everyone else on the regular servers as well, not shunted off to new servers [there’s more to this; see our update at the end of this article]. For brand-new players, there’s a pricy content bundle on sale that’ll make your eyes pop, though of course you can skip all that and still play for free.
“The award-winning Guild Wars 2 launches on Steam on Tuesday, Aug. 23, marking the first time the critically-acclaimed MMORPG will be available on a third-party platform. Widely hailed as one of the most beloved PC games of all time, the subscription-free online world of Tyria celebrates its 10th birthday this month by opening the doors of adventure to a new group of players. […] To coincide with the launch, a new content bundle will be available for Steam players: the Guild Wars 2 Complete Collection. Priced at $98.97, the bundle lets players experience all three expansions (Heart of Thorns, Path of Fire, End of Dragons), and all five seasons of the game’s episodic Living World that bridge the gap between the game’s main narrative arcs. The Complete Collection contains the first 10 years of Guild Wars 2 in one amazing package, from the first steps into its epic virtual world all the way to the explosive climax of Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons.”
If Twitch Drops are your jam, you’ll be happy to know that the game will begin its first campaign for that on August 23rd as well; expect “classic outfits, experience boosters, and even a unique Glowing Purple Mask cosmetic.” We’re guessing this is just the start of the announcements from Guild Wars 2 this week as we head into the anniversary!
“No, Guild Wars 1 accounts cannot be linked to a Guild Wars 2 account that was created via Steam. If your Guild Wars 2 account was created via Steam, you will not have the option to link a Guild Wars 1 account within the Account Management page of your ArenaNet account. However, if you have a Guild Wars 1 account that was created via Steam, you will be able to link it to an existing (non-Steam) Guild Wars 2/ArenaNet account that was created via the Guild Wars 2 website.”
(Cheers, Lum!)
