In our upcoming interview with Colin Johanson, Game Director of Guild Wars 2, he reveals that Guild Wars 2 is aiming to become the definitive MMO eSports experience in 2013.
When asked about PVP in Guild Wars 2, Colin admits that ‘PVP is a big focus for us, for sure’ but it is ‘the one part of the game which we need to develop the most’.
Prior to launch, the team admitted that they want eSports to be a big part of the Guild Wars 2 experience, but at present, they’re still trying to get in all the core features which is why it hasn’t featured yet.
In the interview, Colin went on to talk a bit about the future and the kind of support being brought into the game…
We’ll start adding tournaments and a spectator mode, so shoutcasters can actually start broadcasting games and recording them. We’re doing all the elements that you would expect from a great e-sports game. But that’s kind of the next step. We’re going to build out into that element, and really start growing it from there. Our goal is to be the predominant MMO in the competitive PVP space and we’re building towards that this year.
He continues.
I think that our first step is just making sure that all of the core elements that you would expect from a Triple A, top flight competitive game are there. Giving you the ability to build your own arenas and set your own rules and our custom arena is something that’s coming in the future. That ability to actually have a shout caster spectate games and broadcast what’s going on in them. Those are all things we are doing later this year and are key components that we need established in the game to really grow that.
It’s all baby steps at this point. But the good news? Some of these new additions will feature in Guild Wars 2, this week…
We have our matchmaking and ratings system coming out in about a week. This will mean people can start playing and moving up and down the ratings list for our gamers. Its really important to start getting competitive players to start competing with one another. We also want to build on the rewards that are available to players for PVP and make that an even more rewarding system. Then we are going to start going down the checklist of what you would expect to find in a top flight game and some of that is stuff we are going to innovate, specifically for Guild Wars 2 and do something unique.
Our full interview will go live on Expansive tomorrow. Look out for it!