Year of the Dragon

[PeterChan]

Just moments ago, ArenaNet posted a new entry to their blog! Mike O’Brien officially announced the end of their first closed beta and promises larger events to come beginning with the press in February. In March and April we can expect more participation, implying that many from general public will get to try out Guild Wars 2 from home.

When we look back, Guild Wars 2 has definitely been rocking the media with their surprises and conventions. It's been a long 5 year wait, but those dragons are flying in just in time for the year, the year of the dragon.

Guild Wars 2 has captured the imagination of gamers and media all over the world with its action-oriented combat, its living world full of dynamic events, its highly personalized role-playing experience, and the handcrafted artistry that suffuses every element of the game. Last year, thousands of you joined us at shows and events all over the world to try Guild Wars 2 for yourself. This year, you’ll finally be able to immerse yourself in the vast, diverse world of Tyria.

Our team is uber excited to continue this epic journey 250 years from Guild Wars. Read the full blog entry here and share your excitement with us in the comments!

[Update] We've been Tweeting to our viewers to be sure they get the facts right. "Open Beta" had not been mentioned on today's post, however Martin Kerstein has clarified that there will eventually be Beta Weekends similar to how Guild Wars opened up to the public before its launch. Again, there are no date set for said beta weekends nor have they been tied to the beta phase in March.

As for beta phases prior to beta weekends, ArenaNet will not be disclosing their selection criteria and there is no sign up process at this time.

[loremasterkaae]

The longer the wait the sweeter the rewards. I'm absolutely thrilled that they're pushing to release this year and possibly having beta's we might be able to apply to in the next couple months!!! Cheers to the Year of the Dragon my friends!

[Raven182 Profile]

Really pleased at how quickly the first Beta was carried out. Fingers crossed that means there were no major issues! Looking forward to watching some Press footage with you guys.

[ArcViper]

I'm beginning to wonder what they're keeping in store for PAX East, if they even have anything significant left to reveal at that point. I would imagine the guild system and PvP would be more fleshed out during the beta leading up to the event, but perhaps they'll keep some things left out to keep the hype train going strong before release.