Guild Wars 3 rumors swirl after cryptic ArenaNet posts: "Big things in the games industry are brewing"

A fresh social post shared by the official accounts for both Guild Wars games has caused quite the stir, as it looks like developer ArenaNet is gearing up for a very special announcement at Summer Game Fest. I'm not going to say Guild Wars 3's on the way, but the signs are certainly looking promising.

"The wind stirs. The world shifts. Stand ready." The description tied to an animated art short over on X certainly has an air of grandeur to it. If I'm reading into it from a 'this is Guild Wars 3' lens, as many online have, then that middle sentence is pretty telling. Of course, it's all speculation at this point, and it could quite literally be anything, but let's observe the facts (I say with a crazed, Charlie Kelly look about me).

Guild Wars 2 is in the middle of its current expansion, Visions of Eternity, and it'd feel more than a little premature for ArenaNet to drop a major xpac reveal now. Meanwhile, Guild Wars Reforged arrived at the end of last year, and there may already be plans to expand the revamped original MMO there. However, the fact that the social post was made by both games tells me that whatever's coming isn't to do with either of them specifically.

Additionally, ArenaNet itself has posted on X, saying "big things in the games industry are brewing" - I mean, come on. From all of this, it's almost impossible not to think that some sort of new Guild Wars game is coming, whether that's GW3 or a completely new in-universe story.

ArenaNet is currently hiring artists to "build and polish large-scale game environments and playable maps in Unreal Engine 5" for an unannounced project. Whether that's related to this upcoming announcement or not remains to be seen, but the studio shifting away from the proprietary engine it's been iterating on since the original Guild Wars is certainly indicative that big changes are on the way.

ArenaNet provided "no comment" when approached by PCGamer, so it's unsurprisingly refusing to spoil its plans. For now, then, it's all eyes on Friday's SGF showcase.