How many of us are there?

[Soa Cirri.6012]

Dozens! There are dozens of us!

[Vayne.8563]

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

[Gehenna.3625]

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

[Ashen.2907]

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

[Amaranthe.3578]

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

[Vayne.8563]

@Amaranthe.3578 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

They make more than that. I think the least they've made in a month is 4 million when they were at their lowest. The income statements are a matter of public record, because NcSoft is a public company. They break down the income by game. This game makes more than 4 million a month at this time.

Edit: Keep in mind also, if you look up the statements, that 4 million number doesn't include sales from China either which are listed as royalties, not as Guild Wars 2 income.

[Amaranthe.3578]

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Amaranthe.3578 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

They make more than that. I think the least they've made in a month is 4 million when they were at their lowest. The income statements are a matter of public record, because NcSoft is a public company. They break down the income by game. This game makes more than 4 million a month at this time.

Edit: Keep in mind also, if you look up the statements, that 4 million number doesn't include sales from China either which are listed as royalties, not as Guild Wars 2 income.

Thats good to hear

[Gehenna.3625]

@Amaranthe.3578 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

They do. The last quarter before PoF they made about 4 million a month and of course the expansion comes on top of that. Also note that it's a downward trend so in 2016 and before they made more. By the looks of it they made about 12 million extra in the months that I consider the PoF peak. But as pointed out 4 million a month sounds good by itself until you see the monthly operating costs. Considering the peak of PoF I am slightly disappointed actually cause this adds about half a million per month only smeared out over the two years till the next expansion presumably. On the other hand expansions do keep people playing and therefore they keep spending in the Gem store as well and there are still expansion sales happening over time. So all in all good reasons to bring out expansions.

[Gehenna.3625]

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Amaranthe.3578 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

They make more than that. I think the least they've made in a month is 4 million when they were at their lowest. The income statements are a matter of public record, because NcSoft is a public company. They break down the income by game. This game makes more than 4 million a month at this time.

Edit: Keep in mind also, if you look up the statements, that 4 million number doesn't include sales from China either which are listed as royalties, not as Guild Wars 2 income.

That's true. China revenue falls under royalties. If I remember correctly there is a Chinese company publishing the game there. However, it's unclear how much that is because also their Lineage mobile game falls under that for example and that's a big money maker from them. GW2 China isn't really talked about much. It seemed to have a decent start and then fizzle out a bit and there's nobody talking about how well the game is doing for some time now. So there are no real numbers there and I'm unclear about who gets the royalties paid out.

So assuming those royalties go to ArenaNet and not NcSoft that may add a bit more to the mix but I'm not putting my hand in the fire to say that it's very much. I suppose if GW2 in China was doing well, somebody would be bragging about it. That's clearly not happening.

All in all I would say that GW2 should still turn a profit but I also think that it may already be time to invest into something new and perhaps they are already. I doubt they're going to wait till the last moment where profits sort of dry up and start on something new. The game is already huge and each LS chapter and Expansion brings more areas. Ironically one of the issues they had in GW1 was that it had gotten too big and people were too spread out in GW1 and then they did the same with GW2. But that's another topic entirely.

China is indeed in the royalties but considering the lack of current chatter on it from pretty much anyone and some reports around 2016 that it's not going so well, my guess is that it's not doing terribly well, but as I said that's my guess cause I don't have real numbers to back that up.

[Vayne.8563]

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Amaranthe.3578 said:

@Ashen.2907 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@Vayne.8563 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@IndigoSundown.5419 said:

@Gehenna.3625 said:

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:I'm pretty sure that it wasn't ArenaNet that stated they must release expansions more quickly, but some comment at the NCSoft board meeting. ArenaNet has said that they are pretty much left alone on decisions about how to run the studio.Also, NCSoft does not publish Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet took over that responsibility some time ago.

I'm pretty sure it was ArenaNet themselves and this was before HoT was released. But it's really a moot point since ArenaNet is 100% a subsidiary of NcSoft.

And yes NcSoft does publish Guild Wars 2. Just google it and you will find that NcSoft is still the official publisher, which makes sense because it's better to do all publishing via the same logistics that are already in place. It would be a poor idea to make a separate publishing chain for ArenaNet themselves.

Inculpatus Cedo is correct.

When I google, "Who publishes Guild Wars 2." the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article, which says NCSoft publishes the game. When I google "Does Arenanet publish Guild Wars 2?" the same Wiki article comes up first (big shock) but below is a reddit thread with a link to this article from 2015.

https://massivelyop.com/2015/09/01/pax-prime-2015-president-mike-obrien-addresses-rumors-about-business-model-and-the-arenanet-base-on-the-moon/?utm_content=bufferaa249&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

So, NCSoft still wholly owns ANet, but ANet has assumed the role of publisher.

Hah, well I stand corrected. Evidence is evidence so I won't fight it. A strange move from a general point of view, but it must've made sense for them somewhere. Perhaps because of the game being published in the west (let's not get into China here hehe). Still it's only a side note because in the end the costs still have to paid regardless of who does the actual job.

But thanks, I really appreciate you correcting me on this.

I remember when this information first came to light. I've always assumed it was done for legal reasons of some kind, rather than actually changing anything in the actual process of how the game was run, but it's just a guess.

That could explain it as well. Although I suppose ArenaNet is part of NcSoft West or something, but regardless. Corporate structures can get tricky and who wears which hat where doesn't change the simple point that running a company of 400 people and further operational costs easily runs into millions a month. Just the salaries alone already do that and in a B2P situation without a sub box sales of expansions and Gem stores are key to keep the wheels turning regardless of how many people play the game. I guess that's the short of it.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that ANet's payroll alone ran in excess of $2.5 million per month.

I would be very surprised to lear gw2 makes that much

They make more than that. I think the least they've made in a month is 4 million when they were at their lowest. The income statements are a matter of public record, because NcSoft is a public company. They break down the income by game. This game makes more than 4 million a month at this time.

Edit: Keep in mind also, if you look up the statements, that 4 million number doesn't include sales from China either which are listed as royalties, not as Guild Wars 2 income.

That's true. China revenue falls under royalties. If I remember correctly there is a Chinese company publishing the game there. However, it's unclear how much that is because also their Lineage mobile game falls under that for example and that's a big money maker from them. GW2 China isn't really talked about much. It seemed to have a decent start and then fizzle out a bit and there's nobody talking about how well the game is doing for some time now. So there are no real numbers there and I'm unclear about who gets the royalties paid out.

So assuming those royalties go to ArenaNet and not NcSoft that may add a bit more to the mix but I'm not putting my hand in the fire to say that it's very much. I suppose if GW2 in China was doing well, somebody would be bragging about it. That's clearly not happening.

All in all I would say that GW2 should still turn a profit but I also think that it may already be time to invest into something new and perhaps they are already. I doubt they're going to wait till the last moment where profits sort of dry up and start on something new. The game is already huge and each LS chapter and Expansion brings more areas. Ironically one of the issues they had in GW1 was that it had gotten too big and people were too spread out in GW1 and then they did the same with GW2. But that's another topic entirely.

China is indeed in the royalties but considering the lack of current chatter on it from pretty much anyone and some reports around 2016 that it's not going so well, my guess is that it's not doing terribly well, but as I said that's my guess cause I don't have real numbers to back that up.

The Guild Wars 1 issue is different because you could own different games without ever owning the first games. That is you could begin the game in any expansion, which was a full game in and of itself, until Eye of the North was released. But Factions, Nightfall and Prophecies were stand alone games without necessary crossover.

Here, both expansions expand the base game. That is you need one single base game to get in the game and play and join a guild. It's easier to tranverse the world as well. In fact, Guild Wars 1 was a CORPG, not an MMO, so you can't really compare them anyway. This game was designed completely differently and with a megaserver going, the whole situation is quite different.

If you notice Anet was very very very slow in adding new zones to this game, until the mega server existed. We only had 3 zones after launch, and then the mega server. That's one of the solutions to the player division issue.