NCsoft Europe and ArenaNet have launched Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the first expansion to the Guild Wars franchise of subscription-free, online roleplaying games. Guild Wars players who purchase the expansion can access Eye of the North content through any of the multi-million-selling Guild Wars campaigns-Guild Wars, Guild Wars FactionsT, or Guild Wars NightfallT. The expansion also includes an innovative feature that allows players to take achievements they have earned over the years with them into the forthcoming Guild Wars 2T.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North, continues the subscription-free business
model pioneered by ArenaNet. The expansion is now available at the Official
Guild Wars In-game Store and at http://eu.plaync.com/eu/, as well as from
retailers across Europe and in North America, for an expected suggested
retail price of £24.99 / €34.99.

Eye of the North advances the story told in the original Guild Wars
campaign, and is set in unexplored areas of the continent of Tyria. One of
the highlights of the expansion is the Hall of Monuments, which allows
players to preserve armor sets, pets, Heroes, and titles earned while
playing Guild Wars, Factions, Nightfall, and Eye of the North, and take
those accomplishments with them into Guild Wars 2.

The expansion also contains a host of new features that will appeal
directly to veteran Guild Wars players, including 18 multi-level dungeons,
150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes to aid
them in their adventures, 40 new armor sets, and more items, weapons, and
titles.

"We think fans will find a lot to love in Guild Wars: Eye of the North,"
said Mike O’Brien, co-founder of ArenaNet. "Not only do we go back to the
original Guild Wars lands and stories to wrap up plots and themes fans have
clamored to learn more about, but we’ve also built a bridge to the future
through the Hall of Monuments. This will give loyal players a way to
preserve what they’ve accomplished in Guild Wars over the past two years,
and reclaim the legacy of their favorite characters in Guild Wars 2."

The Guild Wars franchise recently surpassed four million units sold and is
one of the most popular and critically acclaimed online roleplaying game
series of all time. Guild Wars 2 is expected to go into public beta in the
second half of 2008.