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Amazon's MMORPG New World pushed back to spring 2021 release

Doc Kelso

Doc Kelso

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,157
NYC
Just announced on their website: https://www.newworld.com/en-us/news...TVt2OZf9SmCNoiGNq9K_AVq-nnK6Ll9uYxzfu_2otfSOE
With our August 25th launch approaching, we have been scrutinizing our feature list, taking input from our Alpha audience, and listening to what they enjoyed (or didn't!) about the current game. We're incredibly grateful for all of the support and suggestions from our Alpha players, ranging from the folks who spent thousands of hours in New World to those who just sampled -- it's all valuable.

I'm proud of the hard work the team has done, making the game ready for launch with the features we intended for release. We also have a list of features that we planned to start working on once we were in live development, as that is part of operating an MMO. When we examined the feedback we received over the last several months from our Alpha audience, we saw that players like the game, and they would like to see even more of it. In particular, we want to ensure that the most dedicated players have plenty of middle and endgame experiences as they venture through Aeternum. We want our players to feel completely immersed in the game, and know that our studio stands for quality and lasting gameplay you can trust — and that means added time to get things where we want them before we fully release.

As a result, we will be changing our launch date - and correspondingly, our final beta test - to spring 2021. We don't make the decision lightly, and we have urgency about getting the game to you as quickly as possible at the best quality -- with some additions that will make the experience even better.

We're passionate about the game we've been making and want to add more features and content before we share it with a wider audience. As a thank you to our community, we will be providing a special opportunity for our Beta sign-up and pre-order customers (plus our Alpha testers, thank you!) to play the full game of New World - in its current state, for a limited period of time starting on August 25th. We will send an email directly to those customers detailing the process to participate. We're confident that you'll feel that the game has as much promise as we do, and will understand why we want to take the extra time to make this experience the best it can be at release.
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Amazon seems utterly incapable of getting a game out the door on time. This game was originally slated to release in May but they cited COVID-related production issues. With what looks to be a 9 month delay, it seems clear that they just weren't hitting their milestones regardless of COVID.

At least they're honest with the reasoning behind the delay; There just wouldn't be enough to do if the game launched next month. Alpha impressions have largely been semi-positive with the biggest concern being that there really wasn't much to do. Folks were hoping they'd have more in the wings that they just hadn't shown yet, but I guess that wasn't the case!
 
Mr.Deadshot

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,285
Making games isn't easy and they lack experience. Maybe it was the wrong call to start with something ultra-complex like an MMORPG? Or maybe they should have stuck with a clear vision instead of changing the game several times. And then there was Crucible, yeah ...
 
OP
OP
Doc Kelso

Doc Kelso

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,157
NYC
Mr.Deadshot said:
Making games isn't easy and they lack experience. Maybe it was the wrong call to start with something ultra-complex like an MMORPG? Or maybe they should have stuck with a clear vision instead of changing the game several times. And then there was Crucible, yeah ...
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Honestly, this is one of the bigger issues. Amazon's vision for this game has already changed once--it was originally had open pvp/loot on death--and I can see them leaning more and more into the pve side of things. Hence the idea of "having more to do". I don't think they knew what kind of game they wanted to make until recently.
 
LordRuyn

LordRuyn

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,909
Huh, wasn't supposed to launch in a month or so from now? I remember getting an email from them about it.

Not surprised to be honest, especially after what happened with Crucible and with Shadowlands launching in fall it makes sense to delay it.
 
Dylan

Dylan

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,260
Doc Kelso said:
Amazon seems utterly incapable of getting a game out the door on time. This game was originally slated to release in May but they cited COVID-related production issues. With what looks to be a 9 month delay, it seems clear that they just weren't hitting their milestones regardless of COVID.
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A 9 month delay for a company's first MMO during a global pandemic doesn't strike me as unreasonable tbh.
 
criteriondog

criteriondog

I like the chili style
Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,151
Crucible was a massive bomb, I imagine Amazon is trying to make sure this at least does somewhat decent and market it.

Seems like every Amazon game so far hasn't done well, I think they also made a car game awhile back too?
 
Browser

Browser

Member
Apr 13, 2019
2,031
This game is sounding so much like ultima online, I am very excited for this. There has not been another game quite like UO, and this is the closest approximation Ive seen in years, so I hope they get it right.
 
Cenauru

Cenauru

Dragon Girl Supremacy
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,978
Definitely a good move, everyone knows how bad the "But that's it?" realization sucks when playing a new MMO and you've already finished all the content before the "New game" feel wears off. Still cautiously optimistic, the gameplay I've seen so far looks kinda fun but I've been burned by MMO's before to know to wait for videos and reviews to get excited. I'm mostly just optimistic about getting an MMO that's not just copying what's already on the market.
 
Reformed Individual

Reformed Individual

Banned
Oct 17, 2018
1,779
Game was destined for failure anyway, just seems like they're trying to delay it as much as possible for some reason. They've already gotten rid of most of the PvP in the game which was a big draw for a lot of people, and then they just started stealing a ton of concepts from Ashes of Creation while implementing them terribly since the concepts needed PvP for them to work properly.
 
Iadien

Iadien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,370
Good. It needed more time. They basically changed the entire focus of the game, so they need more time to add more PVE shit to do and fix bugs.
 
Einbroch

Einbroch

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,004
This game has been in development hell. First they made it an MMORPG-ish game, then survival games got popular so they switched gears to make in a survival game, then people went wtf, there are enough of these and not enough MMOs, we want an MMO. Then they switched gears again.

The game will probably become a space sim at this point.
 
Squirrel09

Squirrel09

Member
Nov 4, 2017
1,569
Mr.Deadshot said:
You can do multiplayer without making an MMORPG. But hey, let's wait until this is out. I think it looks actually pretty good.
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See, Crucible and Pac-Man Live Studio. (Just heard about pack man just now when looking at their site). Both Multiplayer/Twitch focused games. I'm not saying New World is going to suck. I think Bezos is more concerned about a proper AWS showcase than creating a narrative masterpiece.

I do think New World looks pretty intriguing.
 
Alvis

Alvis

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,233
Spain
Wait is the game really called New World?

Lmao that's the most generic name ever. Let me guess, an algorithm came up with it.
 
Einbroch

Einbroch

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,004
Alvis said:
Wait is the game really called New World?

Lmao that's the most generic name ever. Let me guess, an algorithm came up with it.
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The idea behind it fit the name. It was revealed with a lot of promise. Colonizers come to the "new world" (Murica) and are greeted by mythical creatures and magic. And you're one of those colonists.

What it's become, though...
 
SlickShoes

SlickShoes

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,770
This is never coming out or it'll release very late with no fanfare at all.

it's already been years and changed drastically, I don't think they know what they are doing and MMOs are really difficult to sell to people especially when every feature of your game already exists in others.
 
Bman94

Bman94

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,553
I had no idea Amazon was making another game. I knew about Crucible but this was completely foreign to me. How can a company so massive have such terrible marketing?
 
Fawz

Fawz

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,662
Montreal
Was expected, all indications is that the game had no hype momentum and wasn't looking like it would fare well at launch and even less in the long term. First impression for a game like this can be very important so I'm glad they're delaying it to try to release a better product.

I personally still think it'll be a flop, but I love the DH guys for what they did with KI so I really hope it's a success for their sake.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,673
Probably a good choice. Sounded like a trainwreck.

As a thank you to our community, we will be providing a special opportunity for our Beta sign-up and pre-order customers (plus our Alpha testers, thank you!) to play the full game of New World - in its current state, for a limited period of time starting on August 25th.
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Beta sign up link:
www.newworld.com

New World - Open World MMO PC Game

New World is a thrilling, open-world MMO filled with danger and opportunity where you will carve your destiny on the supernatural island of Aeternum.
www.newworld.com www.newworld.com
 
Intraxidance

Intraxidance

Member
Oct 25, 2017
952
Mr.Deadshot said:
Making games isn't easy and they lack experience. Maybe it was the wrong call to start with something ultra-complex like an MMORPG? Or maybe they should have stuck with a clear vision instead of changing the game several times. And then there was Crucible, yeah ...
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If a single person can make a science based 100% dragon MMO, then Amazon can make a decent MMORPG.
 
CountAntonio

CountAntonio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,725
An entire year? Wow. I could see it though. This was very much a by the number survival game until they got feedback and removed open world pvp and started calling itself a MMORPG. If they wanted that crowd they needed to do a hell of a lot more work to satisfy the PvE only they started targeting. It was such a big shift there was no way the game would have had enough content.
 
shox

shox

Member
Oct 25, 2017
278
I'll just say this, as a long term alpha member, this is the minimum this game needs. What a mess.
 

Jest

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,565
Doc Kelso said:
Honestly, this is one of the bigger issues. Amazon's vision for this game has already changed once--it was originally had open pvp/loot on death--and I can see them leaning more and more into the pve side of things. Hence the idea of "having more to do". I don't think they knew what kind of game they wanted to make until recently.
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It's more that the dev cycle for the game (and same could be said of Crucible) was long enough that the general reception of the game type by the public changed in the meantime. The switch away from the Open PvP/Loot on Death reportedly came directly from the testers as they collectively discovered that it led to a lot of really harsh behavior that turned away/locked out a good portion of potential players. So it's not so much that these devs didn't know what they wanted to make as much as it was that what they wanted to make started to look like something that wasn't going to be viable, so they switched gears.

In general, I feel like that's a good thing. Yes, it's easy to target with quick criticisms but we can see what happens when devs push forward despite warning signs with what happened with Crucible. In this particular case, what I've seen of New World from the gameplay videos last month looks like a pretty solid direction but they just need more content. Delaying to get that out rather than putting it out with promises of "more in the future" feels like a consumer friendly approach in a time when many, many games do the opposite or do the "Paid Early Access Period" to get money in the short term until they can shore up content.
 
StrayDog

StrayDog

Avenger
Jul 14, 2018
2,620
The game was started as PVP game... and then changed to PVE... It complete lost its identity. It will be another generic theme park #4651
 
Alexious

Alexious

Executive Editor for Games at Wccftech
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
909
Reformed Individual said:
Game was destined for failure anyway, just seems like they're trying to delay it as much as possible for some reason. They've already gotten rid of most of the PvP in the game which was a big draw for a lot of people, and then they just started stealing a ton of concepts from Ashes of Creation while implementing them terribly since the concepts needed PvP for them to work properly.
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StrayDog said:
The game was started as PVP game... and then changed to PVE... It complete lost its identity. It will be another generic theme park #4651
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Here's the crux of the entire matter. Last year, the game was entirely switched from a sandbox PvP design to a hybrid PvP/PvE design, which however seemed to be sorely lacking in content according to those who've played it so far. The reason for the delay seems pretty clear, then. They're probably busy making a lot more PvE content, though personally I'd rather they went back to the original design.
 
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