In March 2024, NCSOFT Acting Chairman Park Byeong let it slip during an investor meeting that Bellevue-based subsidiary ArenaNet had already started working on Guild Wars 3. Of course, the studio was not ready for a proper announcement yet, so its response was that they were focused on new Guild Wars 2 updates and expansions (which have been released annually since 2023). Not a confirmation, but crucially, not a denial, either.
Nearly two years later, a new job ad was spotted by the Internet sleuths from Reddit, reigniting discussions around the project. The ad seeks a 'Contract Senior Writer/Narrative Designer' for an unannounced project, so definitely not for new Guild Wars 2 content. The most interesting part, though, is where ArenaNet details the expertise that the would-be employee needs to have: MMOs and Unreal Engine. The former is another hint that they are indeed talking about Guild Wars 3, or whatever the next installment in the series will be called, and the latter suggests the studio might switch from its proprietary engine to Epic's game-making technology.
Here's a full list of what you'll need to actually have a chance, just in case anyone reading might be looking to apply:
- Bachelor’s degree in literature, creative writing, screenwriting, or related field or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- 5 years of experience as a professional writer or copyeditor, with applicable portfolio samples, including 2 years of experience developing MMORPGs and open-world games
- Experience shipping one or more AAA-quality product(s) or nongame equivalent(s), in a writing or editing capacity.
- Understanding of general writing and narrative design concepts.
- Dramatic writing skills, preferably in writing for games and at least one other narrative medium (e.g., screenwriting, playwriting, prose, etc.).
- Copyediting skills.
- Practical and philosophical editing/writing knowledge.
- Understanding of breaking serialized stories at the season and episode levels.
- Understanding of or experience in interactive and non-linear storytelling, using non-traditional and non-verbal delivery systems (e.g., environmental storytelling, in-engine storytelling without cutscenes, etc.)
- Knowledge of character creation, story arc design, and dialogue writing.
- Able to learn and use proprietary tools to create content.
- Familiar with gameplay systems.
- Experience using Unreal Engine.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Able to work independently and in a team.
- Understanding of and ability to use The Chicago Manual of Style.
- Familiar with video game narratives, preferably MMOs.
- Familiar with narrative game systems.
ArenaNet has been posting job ads about a new online game since 2022, so it might not be long until the studio shares something in an official capacity, but there's no telling exactly when. Still, given the near-complete absence of new triple-A Western MMORPGs, Guild Wars 3 might be the only hope on the horizon.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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