- ArenaNet says 's ancient Orr setting will interest longtime lore fans and newcomers
- Studio head Colin Johanson says the game is "very much for our fans" who are invested in the game's lore
- He adds that the game is also for new players, and they won't need to play the first two games to understand what's going on
ArenaNet has confirmed that takes place 1000 years before the first in the ancient land of Orr, which it believes will interest both hardcore fans and new players.
Speaking at an exclusive preview TechRadar Gaming attended at Gamescom, where we saw a guided presentation exploring the game's new momentum system, studio head Colin Johanson shared additional details about the game's setting, where players are a Veil Warden.
Johanson explained that much of history and lore originates from ancient Orr, and he knows fans "care deeply" about it and have been asking ArenaNet for more, so it felt like a natural direction for the sequel.
"Some of the themes from all tie back to moments in this timeline before the gods disappeared from the world," he said. "In , the ruins of Orr are raised from the bottom of the ocean by a giant undead dragon, and players get to visit the remains of what Orr was 1000 years in the future, and players have been asking us for over a decade to see what Orr was like before the gods left, before it was destroyed, and so this is very much for our fans to give them something to get excited about."
However, while ' setting might seem lore-heavy, the studio head confirmed that "it's also for new fans" and that newcomers won't need to play the first two games to understand what's going on.
"This period of time has about two pages of recorded history that we've ever released outside of the studio," Johanson said. "We have a lot more internally that we haven't shared, but our fans have only seen a tiny amount of info about what actually happened in this timeline and setting, which means it's the perfect time for new people to come join the franchise because you don't have to have played or to understand what's going on in the story."
He continued: "Everyone's going to learn it all together, and if you're a big fan, you'll know what some of the species are and some of the characters or some of the locations. But for the most part, everybody is on equal footing."
doesn't have a release date yet, but a beta is scheduled for Fall 2027. The game is launching on PC and PlayStation 5.
Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at TechRadar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as GameSpot, NME, and GamesRadar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about on X.