Launch FAQ

Guild Wars 2 Launch FAQ

Launch Timing Related Questions When is Guild Wars 2 scheduled to launch? The official release date of Guild Wars 2 is August 28th 2012, at midnight PDT. However, 3 days prior, there's a Headstart Access period. When is the Headstart Access release? Guild Wars 2 Headstart begins on August 25th 2012, at midnight PDT. How does that time translate to elsewhere in the world? Saturday, 25 August 2012, 00:00:00 PDT (UTC-7) is equal to Saturday, 25 August 2012, 7:00:00 UTC (GMT). To find out exactly when this is in your local time, consult the Event Time Announcer at timeanddate.com. Headstart Related Questions What is the Headstart Access? The Headstart is a pre-release period of 1 or 3 days in which players who have pre-ordered or pre-purchased the game, respectively, will have access to the game before others. Players who have pre-ordered the game will be granted a one-day Headstart, starting on Monday, 27 August 2012. What is the difference between pre-purchase and pre-order? Pre-purchase only became available on April 10, 2012 through select retailers and the official website. Pre-purchase involves paying the entire retail price of the game prior to launch, whereas pre-orders are generally not paid until just before release date, when the physical disk is shipped. What do I need to do to make sure I have access to the Headstart? Either pre-purchase through the official website, or register an access key on your account. The access key can be either a pre-purchase key, or a pre-order key.