Good reception doesn't make good headlines.

Not true in the gaming industry. In many industries really.

If a studio has a good marketing department, they'll reach out to relevant news outlets whenever they have something worth being excited about (figuring out what is or isn't worth it is a matter of trial and error with your audience; most can find a good sense of it after a couple years), offer interviews / teasers, and guarantee articles coming out at an appropriate time to stoke both old and new player interest.

For the past 6 years before this one... Arena Net hardly ever did that. They didn't market, positive articles most come up around expansions or when new mounts are out, so drama gets maximum attention when it hits.

NCSoft has stepped in for marketing again recently and they've already pushed more marketing in a few months than ANet's leadership did in 6 years - And it's already having a positive impact...