ArenaNet has announced Guild Wars Afterlife, a new paid expansion for the original 2002 MMORPG, set to release on January 13, 2027. This marks the first major expansion for the game in nearly two decades, following 2007's Eye of the North.
Afterlife will introduce players to Xotecha, a mystical, Mesoamerican-inspired setting previously planned for the cancelled Utopia campaign. The expansion takes place in the Mists, in a lost land of the dead. A key feature is the Unformed, a dynamic dungeon within Xotecha where each playthrough offers a unique layout. This design philosophy extends to character builds, with a custom skill-drafting mechanic allowing players to alter their abilities during gameplay. While these skills are specific to Xotecha, players can unlock rewards that carry over outside the Mists.
The expansion requires Guild Wars Reforged, a re-release of the original game scheduled for 2025. ArenaNet stated its commitment to supporting Guild Wars 2 concurrently, alongside the development of a new Guild Wars 3.
Guild Wars Afterlife will be available on PC, Steam, the App Store, and Google Play. It will retail for $30, with a pre-order discount bringing the price down to $24.