Guild Wars Sequel Preview Whets Appetite

By Digital Trends Staff April 4, 2006

ArenaNet, the developers of the popular online role playing game Guild Wars, and game publisher NCsoft yesterday announced a weekend sneak preview they’d offered of their upcoming Guild Wars Factions sequel game drew what they are describing as gamers in record numbers. The preview was available from 12:01 am Friday, March 24 until 11:59 PM March 26.

The Guild Wars Factions preview, said the two companies, reportedly drew more than 500,000 players in an invitation only event which logged a cumulative gaming time of over three million hours online. Gamers gained access to the event by purchasing a pre-order pack which contained a key code for free access to the event, pushing this pre-order pack into top ten sales lists alongside full retail titles.

Guild Wars Factions, which builds upon the success of Guild Wars, will be available on April 28 for $49.99 and no monthly subscription fees. ArenaNet described the game as one in which players â€œexplore a rich fantasy world, acquire skills, build personalized characters, and compete in head-to-head battles with players from around the world.â€

“We knew that by focusing on new ways to play and new things to do within the game, such as the 12×12 Alliance Battles, which were extremely popular with both PvP and roleplaying gamers, that fans would respond enthusiastically,” says Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, in a statement. “This weekend reinforced that we are on the right track with Guild Wars Factions and are making a game that rises to the challenge to be innovative and ever-compelling for its fans.”

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