Note: Originally published at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on August 20, 2024.
Hello, Tyrians,
Happy release day! When Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launches in just a few short hours, you'll begin a bold adventure into a dangerous and untamed wilderness. The denizens of Tyria are determined to recover and build a new future, and cooperation with neighbors is crucial. Your mission: befriend the lowland kodan and uncover the mysteries of a land that was once home to the enigmatic mursaat and their White Mantle followers.
In Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, you'll embark on a story that unfolds across four major releases, starting with today's launch and continuing with quarterly updates through the first half of 2025. Below is a high-level view of what's going live today and our plans for what's coming in the following three quarterly releases.
There's a significant change to our map content plans that we'd like to bring to your attention. We had originally announced that the expansion would feature three open-world maps—two at launch, with a third released in a quarterly update that would then be expanded on in a subsequent quarterly release, like Inner Nayos. Rather than shipping the third map in two parts, we will instead be releasing a standalone map in both the second and third quarterly releases, each similar in size to Lake Doric. This brings the total open-world map count for Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds up from three to four.
As always, game development is full of surprises, so this roadmap comes with a general disclaimer that our release plans may change, despite our best efforts.
In addition to all the content going live today, this quarter will also include a skills and balance update, our annual Halloween festival, a WvW update, a beta event for the new PvP game mode, the return of structured PvP's Tournament of Legends, and multiple bonus events.
Festivals and Bonus Events
Here's the full schedule of festivals and bonus events coming to Guild Wars 2 in the next few months:
- August 20–August 26: Twitch Drops
- August 26: Guild Wars 2 Anniversary Week
- September 10–September17: Fractal Rush Bonus Event
- September 17–September 24: Return to Path of Fire Bonus Event
- September 24–October 1: WvW Rush Bonus Event
- October 1–October 8: Living World Season 4 Bonus Event
- October 15–November 5: Shadow of the Mad King Halloween Festival
Don't forget to bookmark our handy event calendar to keep tabs on what's happening in the game!
Lastly, we have some cozy Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds key art wallpaper to share with everyone! We're incredibly excited to share Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds with you. Thank you for being part of this journey and for your continued support over the years!
We'll see you in Janthir,
—Guild Wars 2 Team