Here’s a recent trend in videogame discourse: now, whenever a game is delayed, the immediate response from a large segment of the audience is, ‘Good – better that it be delayed than be another Cyberpunk’. CD Projekt Red made such a big mess they’ve inadvertently made life easier for other devleopers!
So it is with New World, the much-delayed MMO from Amazon Games Studios. It’s been delayed again and is now due to launch in August.
Its development team put out the below video, explaining the delay and some of the features they’re going to be working on between now and release:
And seriously, look at the comments underneath the video. I scrolled down knowing there would be a Cyberpunk mention, and it’s right there in the first comment.
The updates Bezos’s bestos are working on focus on mid- and end-game content – which is basically the entire game, really – and are based on feedback from various closed beta tests. In the video, game director Scot Lane talks about new 5-player instance dungeons, a 20 vs. 20 endgame mode called Outpost Rush, plus new zones, fishing, and a revamp to the crafting system. You can also read about these changes on the New World blog.
Amazon Games Studios have had a lot of bad press recently, with multiple reports of dysfunction explaining the failure and cancellation of the megacorp’s other games, including MOBA Breakaway and hero shooter Crucible. Amazon say they’re not going to give up, but New World is their only remaining announced game.
Despite those other flops, and the frequent delays to New World, I don’t think this game is circling the drain. There is an appetite for MMOs of this scale and almost no one else is making new games like this. I’ve also read positive feedback from folks who played it during one beta or another. I can picture New World launching to modest success and having enough momentum to keep updating, at least.
