Development on Guild Wars 1 Live Content Ends

Development of the ArenaNet's original hit comes to an end, but the servers live on.

Our worst fears have been realized: Skynet is real and robots are taking over society, beginning with the game that put ArenaNet on the map, the original Guild Wars

Sort of. It was announced via the official Guild Wars news page on Thursday that active development of the game would cease, but that it would live on under the care of automated systems that have been (and will continue to be) developed to ensure that it will run smoothly with nary a fleshy, guiding hand to steer its course. Features such as the Automated Tournament System, holiday events, weekend events (which now span the entire week), and player anniversaries are handled by our new robot overlords, though the Live Team will still be around to handle emergencies as needed. Who said humans are useless?

In a post-Guild Wars 2 world, it would be easy to brush this move off as inevitable, but Guild Wars was and remains a unique experience that's still worth checking out, even over eight years after its initial launch. Compared to its successor, it arguably offers more customizability with regards to character growth thanks to its dual-class system and a low level cap of 20, with the emphasis instead placed on acquiring new skills, collectible card game-style. Like Guild Wars 2 though, the game doesn't require a subscription fee after the initial box price, so while it may be too soon to eulogize the game, now is as good a time as any to take a trip down memory lane.

- Douglas J. VanDerveer

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