Guild Wars 2 Heart Of Thorns Release Date Has Been Set

Guild Wars 2 is about to undergo some major changes including the additiona of the highly anticipated Raids, a shift to the ever-popular free-to-play model, as well as a launch date for the upcoming expansion, Heart of Thorns.

It's becoming more common for the occasional big video game announcement to be made at PAX these days. This weekend's trade show proved no different, with Guild Wars 2 getting some big updates that fans of the popular MMORPG have been eagerly anticipating.

Since Guild Wars' major expansions boast a heavy emphasis on continuing the worlds evolving story, many have been waiting to find out when they will finally be able to sink their teeth into the game's next major piece of content, Heart of Thorns. This weekend it was revealed that the date everyone can mark on their calendars is Oct. 23. That's less that two months away, folks, so you won't have to wait all that much longer.

The release date of Guild Wars 2's next major update was only one part of the three-headed beast that was unleashed on PAX this weekend.

Next up is the fact that Guild Wars 2 has officially moved over to a free-to-play model. Notice that I did not say that the game “will” move over to a free-to-play model, but rather that the developers made it happen this weekend, and now everyone can jump into the GW2 without having to pay a dime upfront. This announcement shouldn't really come as a surprise, since the only games in the genre that seem to be able to keep up the monthly subscription model are World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. Most MMOs that come out nowadays tend to go the pay route for about a year or two before making the jump to free-to-play, which is exactly what's happened with Guild Wars 2.

“Today we're making the core Guild Wars 2 game free for everyone,” reads the official announcement. “With Heart of Thorns coming, it was already a great time to invite friends and guild members into the game, and now it's an even better one. We want to make it easy for new players to try the game because we believe that players who love Guild Wars 2 will buy Heart of Thorns.

As for that third piece of news, Guild Wars 2 will soon be home to full-on Raids. These massive events are planned to be a big part of the Heart of Thorns expansion, allowing groups of dedicated players to take on some of the biggest baddies in the game.

So, there you have it. You can play Guild Wars 2 for free right this very minute, dive into Heart of Thorns on Oct. 23, and enjoy Raids as part of that batch of fresh content.