The backstory of MMORPG sequel Guild Wars 2 will be affected by the outcome of Guild Wars events including the new 'War in Kryta,' developer ArenaNet has revealed.

'War in Kryta' will decide through quests, battles and the sale of faction costumes whether the misguided White Mantle or rebels the Shining Blade rule the region of Kryta, which ArenaNet says will have "a profound effect on the world of Guild Wars 2." Read more »

Chiming in with the legion of April Fools gags today, developer ArenaNet swapped all level 20 player characters' avatars with stick figures in the MMO Guild Wars (PC).

The swap was brought to our attention by reader Tadej Lasic. While the change was universal across the game—avatars became stick figures in outposts, Guild Halls, PVP areas and so on—the swap did not affect heroes, NPCs, or any characters not directly player-controlled.

The Guild Master is a four page interview with Jeff Strain on Eurogamer, where they ask the ArenaNet co-founder about the future of Guild Wars.

There's a Guild Wars: Eye of the North on 2404, asking lead designer Ben Miller about this new expansion pack.

Also on IGN is this preview of Guild Wars: Eye of the North, offering hands-on impressions of the online action RPG expansion pack.

Over at Pro-G you can find a Guild Wars: Eye of the North video, featuring ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain walking them through this expansion pack.

Over at GameSpot you can find the second Guild Wars: Eye of the North development diary. Designer Ben Miller writes about the new content and features to be found in the expansion pack.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Dungeon Crawl is an IGN article by ArenaNet designer Ben Miller, who talks about the dungeons found in the upcoming Guild Wars expansion pack.

New at GameSpot this evening is a Guild Wars: Eye of the North Q&A. ArenaNet game designer Ben Miller is asked about the new content and game features found in this expansion pack.

The latest Guild Wars 2 Q&A can be found at Computer & Video Games. ArenaNet founder Jeff Strain and lead designer Ben Miller talk about their plans for the game.

Eurogamer is the latest website with a Guild Wars 2 Q&A, asking designers Ben Miller and Eric Flannum about the online action RPG followup.

About.com's games section has a new Guild Wars Q&A, asking ArenaNet's Jeff Strain and Mike O'Brien about the recently announced Guild Wars 2 and Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion pack.

NCSoft has issued this press release, officially announcing the development of Guild Wars 2 and the Guild Wars expansion pack Eye of the North. The press release pretty much confirms what showed up online last week. Here's a bit on Eye of the North, which will require either Prophecies, Factions, or Nightfall to run

And for those looking even further down the road at Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will provide a Hall of Monuments where players' accomplishments are memorialized and eventually inherited by their Guild Wars 2 characters, unlocking exclusive items and bonuses in Guild Wars 2. "It's the payoff we hope players will appreciate as we continue to build on the Guild Wars franchise," said Strain. "We're excited to announce these two new products and we want players to know that Guild Wars has an extremely exciting future in the months and years ahead."

There's an article format Guild Wars 2 interview on Kotaku, also offering information on the Eye of the North expansion for the original game.

This Guild Wars Guru forum thread (thanks Blues News) is filled with Guild Wars followup information, all gathered from the most recent issue of PC Gamer. ArenaNet is planning to ditch the Chapter format for the game, and is instead focusing on an expansion pack called Eye of the North, as well as a proper sequel. The Eye of the North expansion pack is set for a holiday 2007 release, and will cost less than the previous chapter additions. It features no new professions, but will include new armor sets, new skills, new heroes and new areas to explore. Its storyline will bridge the gap between the first game and Guild Wars 2. Guild Wars 2 meanwhile, will feature four new races, and "radical" changes to many game elements including PvP play and the NPC companion system. It also sounds like there will be less instancing, and the level cap will be either really high or non-existant. The game will also remain fee-less. A beta is expected to start in 2008. For much more, go here.