'Guild Wars 2' launching August 28th

Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet and NCSoft's upcoming action-MMORPG, has finally been given a European and North American launch date of August 28th, 2012.

Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet and NCSoft's upcoming action-MMORPG, has finally been given a European and North American launch date of August 28th, 2012.

The subscription-free title, which has been in development for over five years, has been undergoing a ton of beta testing over the past few weeks — and it won't stop now in the two months preceding its release. ArenaNet will host a final beta stress test on the weekend of July 20th to ensure the game's servers can handle the day-one server load.

"We're offering gamers an experience that delivers on the promise of online gaming with a truly social experience in an immense, shared world," said ArenaNet president Mike O'Brien in a press release. "After five years of creation, development, and polish, announcing the launch date of Guild Wars 2 is a huge milestone for us, but the thing we're most looking forward to is seeing gamers from all over the globe explore this world and begin creating their own stories."

Prospective players can sign up for the beta and pre-purchase Guild Wars 2 on the game's official website.