Guild Wars 2 cover art

Guild Wars 2

by ArenaNet · published by NCSOFT

Released August 25, 2012 on PC and Mac.

Guild Wars 2 Launch Trailer thumbnail

About Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is an online role-playing game with fast-paced action combat, a rich and detailed universe of stories, awe-inspiring landscapes to explore, two challenging player vs. player modes, and no subscription fees!

Your story begins the moment you bring your character to life. When you create your character, you’ll choose from a range of biographical options that reflect their personality, history, and how they see the world. This biography will set you down a story path, which offers you choices to make. Your decisions will take the story in different directions. The race you choose for your character determines which of the five massive home cities they’ll begin their story in. Your personal story will guide you through private, instanced chapters that explore your character’s life and adventures as they shape their own destiny. If you need a little help, you can always invite friends along to experience your personal story with you. As “guest stars,” these players can help you, but it’s still your story, and key decisions are yours to make Guild Wars 2 provides players both the social, fully interactive feeling of a multiplayer game as well as the customized, choice-based story of a role-playing game. Whether the stakes are epic or personal, we want players to experience their own story within Tyria. We’ve brought to life a massive world of events, storylines, and characters—all we need is you.

Release dates by platform

PCAugust 25, 2012 · Out now
MacFebruary 18, 2021 · Out now

Reviews & players

Critic score749 reviews
Steam reviewsVery Positive88% of 30K positive
Player score80323 ratings on IGDB

PC system requirements

Official specs from Steam

Full specs

Minimum

OS *Windows 7 (64-bit)
ProcessorIntel® i3 3.4 GHz / AMD Athlon x4 3.8 GHz or better
Memory8 GB RAM
GraphicsNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 / AMD Radeon HD 7970
DirectXVersion 11
NetworkBroadband Internet connection

Recommended

Guild Wars 2 FAQ

When did Guild Wars 2 come out?

Guild Wars 2 was released on August 25, 2012 for PC and Mac.

Is Guild Wars 2 on PlayStation 5?

No. Guild Wars 2 has not been announced for PlayStation 5. It is available on PC and Mac.

Is Guild Wars 2 on Xbox Series X|S?

No. Guild Wars 2 has not been announced for Xbox Series X|S. It is available on PC and Mac.

Is Guild Wars 2 on Nintendo Switch 2?

No. Guild Wars 2 has not been announced for Nintendo Switch 2. It is available on PC and Mac.

Who is making Guild Wars 2?

Guild Wars 2 is developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSOFT.

Is Guild Wars 2 multiplayer?

Yes. Guild Wars 2 supports multiplayer, co-operative, and massively multiplayer online (mmo).

Is Guild Wars 2 free to play?

Yes, Guild Wars 2 is free to play on Steam.

Is Guild Wars 2 good?

Steam players rate it "Very Positive" — 88% of 29,911 reviews are positive. Critics average 74/100.

What are the minimum PC requirements for Guild Wars 2?

The minimum GPU is NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 / AMD Radeon HD 7970. See the full minimum and recommended specs on our Guild Wars 2 system requirements page.

Guild Wars series

9 games in release order

Full timeline
  1. Guild Wars2005
  2. Guild Wars: Game of the Year Edition2005
  3. Guild Wars: Factions2006
  4. Guild Wars: Nightfall2006
  5. Guild Wars: Nightfall - Collector's Edition2006
  6. Guild Wars 2: Heroic Edition2012
  7. Guild Wars 22012
  8. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns - Deluxe Edition2015
  9. Guild Wars 3TBA

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