The Legend Returns: Guild Wars Reforged is Real

The Headline: It’s not a remake, and it’s not Guild Wars 3—it’s something better for the purists. ArenaNet officially unveiled Guild Wars Reforged earlier this week, and it’s coming sooner than you think.

If you’ve been waiting for a reason to return to Pre-Searing Ascalon, your time has come. Here is everything we know about the surprise 20th Anniversary overhaul.

📅 Release Date & Price

• Launch: December 3, 2025 (Just under two weeks away!)
• Price: Free for anyone who already owns the original campaigns. For new players, it’s a $19.99 bundle that includes Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall.
• Developer: Co-developed by ArenaNet and 2weeks, a new indie studio formed by original Guild Wars 1 developers.

✨ What is “Reforged”?

It’s being called a “modernization” rather than a full remaster. They aren’t changing the low-poly charm, but they are fixing the tech that made it hard to play in 2025.

• Visuals: New dynamic sky bloom, ambient occlusion, and lighting engines. It still looks like Guild Wars, but the atmosphere is reportedly much deeper.
• The Big Fix: Full Steam Deck Verification and native controller support. You can finally play Guild Wars on the couch without mapping 40 keys yourself.
• UI Overhaul: No more squinting at tiny text on 4K monitors. The UI has been rebuilt for high-DPI displays with a new (optional) quest tracking system.

🗣️ The “Toughened Up” Promise

Game Director Stephen Clarke-Wilson dropped a quote that has the subreddit buzzing: “Reforged means we’ve toughened it up.” While they promise the core gameplay is identical, there are whispers that the AI pathing for Henchmen has been tweaked to be smarter, making solo-play in Hard Mode viable without needing a full hero team meta.

🔗 The GW2 Connection

Yes, the Hall of Monuments is still active. If you link your Reforged account to Guild Wars 2, you can still earn those classic skins and titles. With the influx of new players expected in December, getting a “Kamadan Trade District” party going is going to be easier than it has been in a decade.