Guild Wars Franchise Tops Five Million Units

By James Walker • February 26, 2008

Guild Wars, which is where people who hate World of Warcraft go for their MMO goodness, has shipped over five million units worldwide according to the game’s publisher, NCsoft.

The five million number may be a little misleading. As is explained in the press release that announces this impressive milestone, the five million number is for the Guild Wars franchise. So, really, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North have combined to sell five million units. More people need to get into Guild Wars — it’s a cheap and fun alternative to World of Warcraft that actually does some things better than WoW, but I digress.

NCsoft CEO Taek Jin Kim is certainly pleased with the news:

Guild Wars is a proven success and has set a new standard fr online RPG games with its unique business model and superior playability. ArenaNet is dedicated to creating games that expand the market and provide great new content to our loyal player base. This success has built a great foundation from which the next generation of Guild Wars games will grow.

Co-founder of AernaNet Mike O’Brien is also excited about the news, saying that the “five million mark is extremely gratifying” because it “shows the hard work and dedication we put into our games has resonated with the fans.”