ArenaNet just licensed the Guild Wars IP to bilibili for a free-to-play CCG, with Korean studio NC (formerly NCSoft) actually building the damn thing while the original studio sits this one out as consultants. The 5x3 grid battlefield lets cards move in multiple directions each turn, bringing flanking, knockbacks, and positioning into a genre that usually just means slamming units into each other until one side runs out of life. Commanders pulled straight from Guild Wars professions bring passives and actives to the table, plus the project promises original composers and voice work to keep the MMO flavor.

Bilibili handles global publishing on paper, but early chatter points to a China-first rollout with no firm Western release date or monetization details yet. The trailer shows the grid in action and confirms single-player and PvP modes, but the real test will be whether NC and bilibili can avoid the usual gacha/CCG pitfalls that have sunk bigger names. Earlier Steam rumors called it Lion’s Arch: Guild Wars Arena before the official pivot to Mistbound.

GW fans on Reddit and X are split between mild hype for the tactical twist and eye-rolls about another outsourced spin-off while GW3 is still cooking. NCsoft lead producer Hwang Sunwoo and Hearthstone pro Baek “Kranich” Hakjun are attached, which at least suggests they’re not just phoning it in. Whether this becomes a whale trap or an actual bridge between deck-building and Tyria remains to be seen.