Guild Wars – that series of popular massively-multiplayer online role-playing games – is named after three legendary in-universe battles, which are foundational to its story. However, two games in and 20 years later, we’ve still never actually seen one of these battles ourselves. And that doesn’t look to be changing with Guild Wars 3.

In a new video released on the official Guild Wars YouTube channel, developer ArenaNet pulled back the curtain a little to reveal more about the setting of Guild Wars 3. We discovered that the new game takes place around 1000 years before Guild Wars 1, when human gods wandered the kingdom of Orr.

These gods gave out magic to the kingdom’s trusted guilds – the eponymous warring guilds – and players get to join one known as the Vaelwardens. Importantly, though, these are not the same guilds that earn the series its name. Those guilds duke it out over magical bloodstones many years later after the gods leave Orr (due to dragon-related shenanigans). This game, Guild Wars 3, takes place before the gods decide to pack up and move on.

There are still threats to fend off, though, some of which are teased in this video, including dealing with those who want magic but aren’t gifted it and others seeking to do wrong with newfound powers. But it does mean the historic events of the guild wars won’t be seen. With the gods still around in the game’s proposed setting, it would mean our characters would need to live for more than 100 years to see a famous guild war in action.

That doesn’t mean there’s not room for some very interesting moments in Guild Wars 3. Much of what happens in Orr in this period is a mystery, though there are a few key events that shape the entire series. There’s the god Abbadon giving magic to all the races, not just humans; there’s Grenth becoming a relatively new god in the pantheon; and there’s more.

Of course, to step away from the lore-delve for a moment, the original Guild Wars gained its name due to an emphasis on the guild-vs-guild, player-versus-player combat, so it didn’t perhaps matter that we saw a canonical guild war in-action or not. But it’s a recurring question that resurfaces now and again regardless, especially from newer members of the playerbase.

Guild Wars 3 was one of the more exciting reveals at this years’ Summer Game Fest, and has already won hearts courtesy of the studio head confirming no subscription or battle pass will be present. Expect more videoed deep-dives as we lead up to the game’s Q4 2027 beta release.