Eurogamer is reporting that during a conference call, Jaeho Lee (Chief Financial Officer) confirmed that a Guild Wars 2 beta is on the way later this year, and also that the CFO hinted at a possible 2012 release for the game.

"Starting from year 2012, we believe substantial growth will be driven by new blockbuster titles like [Blade & Soul] and Guild Wars 2," announced Lee to investors.

"Also, Guild Wars 2 will go into beta testing stage in the second half of this year," he added.

Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has stuck staunchly to a 'when it's done' mentality regarding the game's release.

Read the story at Eurogamer.

Or head over to the official Guild Wars 2 site.

A release any time after September 2011 will still contribute "substantial growth" for 2012.  Still nothing to strengthen the case for a 2012 release.

Yeah, I don't think it is definitively a 2012 comment, but it does seem to fit into Anet's current timeframe though.

Am I the only one that thinks this looks like a blonde Lulu from FFX

Ok, not to sound like a total douche here, but I really thought the game was going to be released at the end of THIS year.  I expect the game to be running perfectly without hiccups if they're going to wait yet another year to release the game.  I mean I expect that with all games, but this one in particular.  They've been at this since 2007.

Originally posted by Unlight

A release any time after September 2011 will still contribute "substantial growth" for 2012.  Still nothing to strengthen the case for a 2012 release.

Wouldn't the statement have been 'starting from Fall 2011' or 'starting from end of 2011' then?

It looks to me more like they're expecting a release in 2012, especially if they still have to do an - in their words - closed alpha and closed beta testing.

I'd hoped for a May release just as happened with GW or at the latest a Fall release, but from these latest reports and statements by NCSoft and ANet people the most realistic projections are for a  2012 release.

We'll see, I guess.

They will release it at the anniversary of GW's 1st birthday =P So april or may 2012.. =]

BTW> FIX THE ENGINERE CLASS REVEAL ARTICLE! WE CAN"T COMMENT ON IT! =]

Well there will definitely be a beta this year, like mentioned in the article, and according to Anet their beta would be close to release. So release can not be far from the moment beta starts. 

A release late in the year wouldn't book substantial growth or otherwise until the following year anyway. It sounds to me like they are shooting for a release before the end of the year but don't want to commit to it. That seems reasonable. Except for the part where this game is looking so good it is giving me the fidgets. Must be strong. (grit teeth)

onehunerdper...no clue if she looks like her but she sure is hot :D

This is old news. ArenaNet already put in their FAQ months ago that there will be a closed alpha & beta test this year and the feedback from this will determine their open & closed beta. So I thought that it was logical to assume that the game would come out, around the end of the year, or early next year.

Quite stressing over it, Skyrim will be out in Nov so enjoy that for a while.

Im assuming they are aiming a release away from SWTOR as well even though Guild Wars 2 could be the one game to give it a run for its money. As far as we know right now, there are no big releases slated for the start of next year, makes it a good time for them to release without much competition. 

No way they are releasing in 2011. They going to use the beta as a marketing tool and milk it for all its worth before releasing.

Wow that title scared me. I thought it meant that it might not get released. Almost had a heart attack just then. :P

Missing the Christmas release window would make no sense.

I find it hard to believe that ArenaNet/NCsoft would sacrifice the huge amounts of revenue to be made from a release just prior to the holiday season, especially since they won't be generating revenue from monthly subscriptions like other games. Holiday sales would make it a blockbuster success and would eclipse any potential loss from not having a monthly subscription fee.

But it's NCSoft.....

I had my account hacked there and suddenly my password was changed, Aion bought and registered.  Lucky for me, the credit card on the account was no longer valid.  I wrote NCSoft about this, and seeing as I hadn't used the account in almost a year, told them to shut it down entirely.  Nope, wouldn't do it.  I asked again, they said no, that they didn't know if I was who I said I was.  So, I contact my lawyer, get the facts then call them back yet again.  After threatening a lawsuit, they finally gave in and shut the account down.  Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

I've always been curious about GW and GW2, but wihle NCSoft is involved, I'm staying away.

Originally posted by Binny45

*snip*

I've always been curious about GW and GW2, but wihle NCSoft is involved, I'm staying away.

 

It's true you shouldn't buy a product from a company you don't trust.  FYI, though, GW and GW2 don't have a subscription, so you needn't give them your cc, unless you want to buy dyes or whatever.