Guild Wars 2 "the most-updated online world in the industry"

Guild Wars 2 is the most-updated online world in the industry, according to developer ArenaNet.

In a blog post celebrating the MMORPG's first anniversary, development chief Mike O'Brien said the team is now updating Guild Wars 2 about five times as often as the typical MMO.

"So in this first year we've ramped up to make Guild Wars 2 the best-supported, most-updated online world in the industry," he said.

"And if you ask me what stands out most about our first year, I'll tell you, I think the number one thing we accomplished was reorienting our company to be able to update the game so much.

"In the first eight months after launch we shipped eight major releases, and then in the subsequent four months we shipped eight more major releases. We're releasing new content every two weeks. Think about the power of that. We're now updating Guild Wars 2 about five times as often as the typical MMO."

Guild Wars 2, which carries no fee beyond buying the game, launched last year to huge interest, and sold three million units in its first nine months on sale. That, according to research company DFC Intelligence, made it the fastest-selling Western MMO of all time.

New information released today confirmed sales had grown to over 3.5 million - an impressive feat for an MMO in its first year on sale - with a peak of over 460,000 people playing at once.

Other stats show the Human is the most popular race, and the Warrior the most popular class.

"As we start to hit our stride with these releases, and as millions of players log in to participate in these world-changing events, you can see a kind of magic start to happen," O'Brien said.

"The line between dynamic events and live updates starts to blur. The world really is changing all the time, and there's always something new to see and do."

As for the future, O'Brien said players will see more and more how their choices and actions in Tyria will permanently change the world.