In case you missed it, we just interviewed ArenaNet's James Phinney, Lead Designer on Guild Wars, to discuss the game's 4-year anniversary, which will be celebrated on April 28. Well, NCsoft and ArenaNet have just made another announcement near the game's birthday: the Guild Wars franchise has exceeded six million units sold!

“We are humbled by how gamers have responded to Guild Wars over the past four years, and we are proud that the game and its community have helped to continually shape, define, and expand the genre,” ArenaNet studio head Mike O’Brien said in a press release. “Our subscription-free business model has proven to be a big hit with gamers, bringing an enormous and diverse online community to the game.”

You can read the full press release after the jump.

BRIGHTON, United Kingdom - April 24, 2009 – NCsoft®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and ArenaNet™, a wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft and the acclaimed developer of Guild Wars®, today announced that on the cusp of its fourth anniversary, the Guild Wars franchise has exceeded six million units sold. Guild Wars is the award-winning and genre-defining series that is one of the most popular and successful online role-playing games in the industry.

To commemorate these milestones, ArenaNet has just released a major content update, including new quest content and extra storage options. Additional in-game birthday festivities will be available starting on April 28th, the official anniversary of the game. For more information on the fourth anniversary updates, go to http://eu.guildwars.com/community/community-news/.

“We are humbled by how gamers have responded to Guild Wars over the past four years, and we are proud that the game and its community have helped to continually shape, define, and expand the genre,” said ArenaNet studio head Mike O’Brien. “Our subscription-free business model has proven to be a big hit with gamers, bringing an enormous and diverse online community to the game.”

Guild Wars is one of the most successful PC gaming franchises of all time. Since its release in 2005, it has received numerous awards for its innovative design, world-class art direction and robust content streaming engine. ArenaNet continues to support the game’s thriving community with regular in-game events, updates, and community activities.

The Guild Wars universe contains three campaigns and an expansion pack: Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions™, Guild Wars Nightfall™, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North™.