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Guild Wars 2 is jumping on the beta bandwagon as ArenaNet has confirmed that the MMO will "for sure" have a closed beta by the end of the year. According to the game's lead content designer Colin Johanson, "We're in closed alpha right now. We're going to go into closed beta by the end of this year. Based on the outcome of the closed beta, that will determine our open beta schedule. Based on the outcome of the open beta, that's going to determine our release date."

Johanson went on to mention, "If we tear through the beta and everything's super positive then obviously it'll come out faster. And if we go into the beta process and we see things we want to change, then we have the luxury of having the time to be able to sit down and fix that stuff." 

This is pure speculation on my part but I think that not only will the beta determine the release date of Guild Wars 2, but also the reception of BioWare's epic Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. If TOR resonates well with fans, I have a feeling that the release of GW2 will be pushed back. However, if the fans don't connect to TOR, it might move GW2's release up.  Regardless, it's interesting to note that Guild Wars 2 will have an open beta at some point so that anyone who wants to try out the title will have a chance to.

I haven't been mute about my adoration for GW2, so I'm excited to hopefully be getting my hands on this gorgeous game before I had expected to.  What about you? Will you be trying out Guild Wars 2 via beta if you get the chance to? What excites you the most, or even turns you off about the game if you don't plan on trying it out?

Source: VG247

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