Guild Wars 2 core game is free-to-play

ArenaNet today has announced that it's previously buy-to-play game is now transitioned to a free-to-play game, at least for the core game. ArenaNet explained that the problem with current MMO games is that there are many expansions. For new players, a question commonly asked is which expansion do I have to purchase along with the base game to play with my friends? The only expansion, for now, is the Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns.

What that means is that the game you get to play for free right now is the only thing you need to play with your friends playing Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet is also doing this to bring in new players that may be interested in Guild Wars 2 but don't want to buy the game without trying it first. Since launching the game three years ago, yesterday (29th of August), ArenaNet has sold more than 5 million copies of the game.

"We’re making the core game experience free because we’re confident that anyone who loves Guild Wars 2 will buy Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns"  -ArenaNet

They have also stated that "We’re making the core game experience free because we’re confident that anyone who loves Guild Wars 2 will buy Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns". The game itself will function as it did before the transition to free-to-play, meaning there will be no such micro transactions in game, in hopes that the players that love the game will purchase its upcoming expansion Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, which launches on the 23rd of October.

Free players of the Guild Wars 2 game will have some minor restrictions placed upon them whilst still getting the authentic Guild Wars 2 experience. Some of the restrictions are like starting with fewer character slots and bag slots than the paid version of the game. For more information on the free-to-play game restrictions or just more overall information, click here, or if you wish to dive straight in and want to start downloading the game, click here.