The closed beta for Amazon’s MMO New World kicked off earlier this week. As MMOs are wont to do, there were some initial hiccups, though not the ones you’d usually expect. Numerous players reported that their graphics cards overheated or died while playing in the beta, many specifically EVGA’s Nvidia RTX 3090 cards. Amazon quickly released a patch to alleviate concerns about frame rates in game. EVGA have now also confirmed that they will be replacing affected GPUs.
In a statement to PC Gamer, EVGA say (perhaps a bit non-specifically) that “Yes, all failed 3090’s are being replaced.” According to PC Gamer, “there is reportedly also now a specific ‘New World’ category when it comes to giving the reason for the return of the faulty graphics card.”
EVGA have reportedly given a similar statement to tech YouTuber “JayzTwoCents”. In a video testing New World with an RTX 3090 GPU, Jay says that an EVGA member told him players with affected GPUs are “already getting their replacement cards,” saying that shipping has already begun for replacements.
In a livestream yesterday, EVGA also say “For those that have been affected by this, we have already been working directly with those customers. We do have cards going out to them. Yes, we do have cards reserved for replacement. It is completely covered under warranty. Anything that happens to your card, as long as it’s not physical damage.”
Neither Amazon nor EVGA have been particularly clear on what the problem actually is. EVGA’s RTX 3090 cards appeared to be the most mentioned failures from players, though other series cards and models reportedly experienced overheating. It’s possible that neither really know where the fault lies until more player reports on card failure come in.
Amazon’s latest update on the issue says “We have implemented an update to reduce GPU load in menu screens by clamping FPS – this does not affect settings in game world available via the Settings/Video menu.”
As for the game itself, which is still in closed beta prior to its official August launch, Ed’s New World preview says it took him by surprise. In a good way, actually.
