GuildWars2.com has an update from ArenaNet to address the backlash over pricing of Heart of Thorns, the upcoming Guild Wars 2 expansion, since the inclusion of the base game made owners of the MMORPG sequel feel they were paying for it twice. They explain how they helped cause confusion by how this was presented, and outline a price adjustment through a refund policy they hope will appease their loyal customers:

In our January 23 FAQ, we wanted to clarify that Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns would not be a stand-alone campaign like those offered in Guild Wars ® in the past (Factions® and Nightfall®), but instead would be a true expansion to Guild Wars 2 similar to what Guild Wars: Eye of the North® was to our original game. We wanted you to know that access to much of the content in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns requires access to Guild Wars 2. Some read the FAQ as us urging players to buy the core game now, in preparation for the expansion release. This was not our intention and amendments made to the FAQ following the announcement were a good-faith attempt to clarify this misinterpretation. As such, we’re offering a comprehensive refund policy.

For all players who purchased the Guild Wars 2 core game from our website and registered it between January 23, 2015 and June 16, 2015 in anticipation of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, we will automatically refund what you paid for the core game should you decide to pre-purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns from our website or in-game store any time through July 31, 2015. If you take advantage of this refund and pre-purchase Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, all of your current account progress will be kept intact. We’ll provide further details on when refunds will be processed in the next couple weeks as we set up this process.

If you purchased the core Guild Wars 2 game from our website and registered it between January 23, 2015 and June 16, 2015, and you no longer want to play Guild Wars 2, we will refund your core game purchase price and close your account provided you make the request by July 31, 2015. Please contact our Customer Support team to make this request.

If you purchased the core game from a third party, we are unable to provide a refund. However, if you registered the core game between January 23, 2015 and June 16, 2015 and upgrade it by prepurchasing any Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns edition before Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns‘ launch, we will add one additional character slot to your Guild Wars 2 account. The process of delivering your additional character slot will be the same as described above. If you would like a refund, you will need to contact that third party, as refunds are dependent on their policies and rules.{/quote