Guild Wars 2 Players Upset Over Steam Delay

I’m sure you guys recall when ArenaNet, the team behind Guild Wars 2 announced their brand new End of Dragons expansion, right? Of course you do.
But the expansion was still a ways off – a year, maybe 2 before being ready to actually roll out onto the live servers. That was fine though, as they had revealed something that was equally as important – maybe more so.
Currently, the game has only ever been actively available and playable via their own personal launcher. So when players learned that Guild Wars 2 was coming to Steam, players were ecstatic.
We’d finally be able to play it via Steam – which would not only be easier to play with friends, but it would also provide a larger platform for players to both find and play the game.

It’s no secret that launching an MMO on to Steam has the potential to drive thousands, tens of thousands of new players to the game. This is one of the reasons The Elder Scrolls Online, Final Fantasy XIV and even more recently, Star Wars The Old Republic all rolled out Steam-compatibility.
Guild Wars 2 and ArenaNet wanted the very same – with the launch date for the Steam iteration of the game coming in November 2020 – yeah, this month.
However, according to a report that came just a few days ago on the official Guild Wars 2 website titled “Guild Wars 2 Steam Release News,” that is no longer the case.

Let’s take a look through and read this..

“At the end of summer, we gave you a first look at the next Guild Wars 2 expansion, Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. We have been overwhelmed by the response. Delivering this next chapter in the Guild Wars® universe is our highest priority.

With this in mind, we’ve made the decision to put the Guild Wars 2 Steam release on hold for the time being. Our number one priority right now is crafting Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons with the high quality you expect and deserve.
Additionally, we’re full speed ahead on delivering an epic climax to The Icebrood Saga that lives up to (and we hope exceeds) previous Living World finales.

In the meantime, we’re looking forward to showing you the first trailer for The Icebrood Saga: Champions next Thursday, November 5.”

Yup, they have officially confirmed that the Steam release of Guild Wars 2 has been delayed indefinitely.
Now there are any number of reasons for this. They claim that it’s so they can focus their attention on the upcoming End of Dragons expansion, when – while yes, that is no doubt part of their reasoning, I want to offer my thoughts.
What I think is that if they launch the game on to Steam this month, and players jump into the game for the first time right now, maybe – MAYBE they’ll buy the Path of Fire expansion that includes Heart of Thorns.
But if they launch the game on to Steam at the time of the expansion’s release, players will have the option of purchasing the expansion pack at full price, as opposed to the substantially discounted price that Path of Fire is at currently.
My thought is that this is all pertaining to money – how much they can make off of their newest expansion. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t bother me either way.

There’s further evidence to back up my thought though: When playing Guild Wars 2 via Steam you won’t be able to use the Guild Wars 2 account you’ve been using up until this point. They’re going to offer no character or account transfers, or connectivity whatsoever.
Meaning that if you want to migrate over to the Steam version of Guild Wars 2, you’ll be required to purchase the Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire expansions all over again.
When End of Dragons launches, the price for all 3 expansions is going to be quite a bit more expensive than it is now, meaning if you want to play on Steam – with all your Steam friends – you’re going to be forced into quite an investment.

Again, I have no issue with this, I just wish they weren’t claiming it’s because they’re focusing on End of Dragons now, when the Steam release was supposed to be this month.

Regardless, I’m still excited for End of Dragons. Mrs Stix and I stream Guild Wars 2 every Saturday and we’re inching ever closer to that level cap every weekend we play.
While we’ve never played neither expansion in the past, we’re not only excited to get into them and try them out, but to also get into the most recent expansion to see how it holds up against Shadowbringers and Shadowlands.

But as for Guild Wars 2 on Steam? We’re looking at a time AFTER the next expansion’s launch, not before. I know that’s upsetting for a lot of people – I’ve seen the forums, I’ve seen the subreddit – I understand.
But until then.. well, all we can do is wait, right?