The upcoming third episode of Guild Wars 2’s fifth season will release without voice acting, developer ArenaNet said in a recent announcement. The studio plans to record voiceover and add it to the game at a later date.
Since the Guild Wars 2 team is working remotely due to covid-19, The Icebrood Saga’s next chapter, “No Quarter,” will use text rather than the usual high-quality voice acting of folks like Dave Fennoy, Sumalee Montano, and Matthew Mercer.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but we want to keep releasing content updates for the community to enjoy on a regular schedule,” ArenaNet’s statement reads. “When it’s safe, we’ll create a high-quality studio recording so we can update the episode with voiced lines.”
A video featuring several of the voice actors echoing ArenaNet’s plans accompanied the announcement.
ArenaNet adopted a mandatory work-from-home policy for its Bellevue, Washington offices on March 6. While this hasn’t contributed to any noticeable delays for the current season, known as The Icebrood Saga, the developers obviously felt it was best not to bring a bunch of voice actors and engineers into the studio for the time being.
Guild Wars 2 players can look forward to a new trailer next week.
Correction (05/01/20, 4:00 p.m. ET): We’ve changed the headline to clarify that the lack of voice acting applies to “No Quarter” and not to Guild Wars 2's future expansion.