ArenaNet: Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 will be able to coexist

ArenaNet global brand manager Chris Lye has said the firm plans to keep Guild Wars going even after the launch of Guild Wars 2, providing the player base is still active.

Speaking in an interview with VideoGamer, Lye seemed to vaguely hint that if the original game were to remain operable, it would be entirely up to the game's users.

"The only incentive we need is to have an active player base," he said. "Guild Wars is a very cost effective game to support and because there is no active cost to maintain both a Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 account. We could see a lot of players keeping both."

With that in mind, Lye firmly believes MMO fans can actively play more than one game in the genre at a time, providing they aren't playing more than one sub-based grindfest.

"When you ask that question I think most people think 'can gamers realistically play more than one grindy subscription-based MMO at a time?',tThe answer to that question is probably no," he said.

"However, Guild Wars 2 doesn't charge a subscription and our gameplay is built to be accessible and allow players to pop in and out as they choose. Based on that we can happily coexist with other MMOs."

ArenaNet is set to bring Guild Wars 2 to gamescom this month, where it will reveal an all-new gameplay demo and publicly debut the MMO's PvP mode.

NCsoft's press briefing will be held during the event on August 17, and a “world exclusive” announcement has been promised, which is leading some to suggest it's an exact date for the Guild Wars 2 beta or possibly a release date for the MMO.

We'll know for sure what it is in a couple of weeks.