MMORPG hope for release 2021: New World
What is New World? This is an MMO with RPG elements from Amazon. It’s not entirely clear why it shouldn’t be an MMORPG. With its classic “top-down view”, it resembles MMORPG aesthetics more than Lost Ark. However, Amazon prefers to call New World MMO because “MMORPG” is too strongly associated with WoW, tab-targeting combat and rolling out long guides. New World doesn’t want to be that kind of game.
In New World, players explore a fictional island, Aeternum in the Atlantic, located somewhere between Europe and North America. Originally, New World was supposed to be set in the 17th century during the time of colonization, but that was likely too politically sensitive: keyword slavery and Native Americans. Therefore, Amazon shifted it to an island.
The head of New World stated: There is no good way to tell the story of colonialism. Therefore, they won’t do it. New World does not tell the history of America.
Moreover, quite a few changes have already occurred in New World: They have moved away from the PvP focus and intend to give PvE players plenty to do with quests and grinding. A robust crafting system is also planned. Players are supposed to fight their way through the island piece by piece, take out mobs, and experience adventures.
Since when have players been looking forward to New World? New World was announced in September 2016. At that time, it seemed like a fantasy MMORPG with an interesting setting: colonial America with horror elements and survival elements.
In the meantime, the game went quiet until it re-emerged in 2018. At that point, it seemed like it would be a massive PvP MMORPG: Thanks to Amazon’s server technology, players should clash in huge armies. New World seemed to want to impress mainly with its large dimensions: a gigantic, vibrant world with thousands of players fighting against each other.
After a major realignment towards PvE at the end of 2019, the release was initially planned for 2020, but was then postponed to 2021. The game needed more time in development, they said. Apparently, New World still lacked endgame content and polish.
Why is New World taking so long? The development of New World has not been smooth, but has involved significant shifts. Amazon reinvented the game in the middle of development. One goal seems to have been to avoid experiencing a PR nightmare: today, a game in which players steal land from indigenous peoples and establish settlements is not a good idea. It’s better to smash demons and establish new settlements on conquered land.
Furthermore, the strong PvP focus has proven to be problematic: in the original “every man for himself and the strongest survive” version, New World was unappealing for many mainstream players. Since the realignment, more players have been interested in the MMO. According to the WoW streamer Asmongold, New World is now even attracting the WoW audience.
However, this has alienated some of the original PvP fans who feel cheated out of “their game”. They repeatedly quote statements from Amazon developers from 2019 about what a hardcore PvP game New World was supposed to be.
Even though New World is now garnering more attention, these realignments have cost time. The pandemic has further complicated development. Amazon has also sunk its first two games, Breakaway and Crucible, and they say now that New World should only be released when it’s genuinely ready.
Is New World really coming in 2021? Everything points to yes. The game has already been postponed twice. The new release date is likely May 25th. That should work out.
If it gets postponed again, it will probably still make it for the Christmas season 2021.
What can we expect from New World? New World will primarily be able to impress with its combat system and the world. We should not expect any major innovations gameplay-wise. Some gimmicks for streamers are planned – Twitch belongs to Amazon, but it is unlikely that New World will offer any really “game-selling features.” Fishing has been presented as the latest innovation, and until now, everything New World offers looks like familiar patterns.
We will get an untried setting, an exciting world, and a modern MMO with good graphics and a modern combat system. However, it will likely be more about grinding. PvP will play a crucial role even though the focus has shifted away from it.
The question is whether New World can truly utilize Amazon’s strong server infrastructure to provide a “massive” MMO with large battles again. For this, it will be essential that the game is also genuinely well-received. New World is expected to be released only for PC, which could allow it to go for “large and ambitious” without compromise.
A significant question mark is the endgame. It currently seems like a problem area where New World still needs to prove itself.
New World will likely struggle to maintain a spot “among the top 5,” but we can expect at least a few weeks of an interesting, new player experience for MMORPG fans.
