The streaming platform Twitch belongs to Amazon – the new MMO New World is also being developed by Amazon. Game Director Scot Lane explained to us on MeinMMO what features the new MMO offers for Twitch streamers and their viewers.
Where does the information come from? We at MeinMMO had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Scot Lane, the Game Director of New World, in mid-December. The conversation turned to Twitch and the role the streaming platform plays for New World.
Chaotic PvE battles on a clear schedule
This is at the center of New World: In New World there will be PvE wars, which are intended to take place regularly. Here player groups defend a territory against hordes of monsters attacking in hundreds:
“I can’t emphasize it enough: Even if you’re not a PvP fan and don’t like to be in the middle of a battle: When the AI attacks you in hundreds and you defend yourself with other players, it’s a lot of fun.
This way PvE fans can also experience what players in the Alpha have referred to as our highlight: massive battles.”
Scot Lane
Players are supposed to be able to sign up for these battles on a “Signup” board.
Each territory in New World will feature a “war interface” where players can see that a battle is taking place, for example, at 9 AM server time.
With the appointment mechanic, players can signal: “I would like to participate in this battle tomorrow.” Lane says, the higher a player’s influence in the territory, the more likely it is that they will join the battle.
This is how it relates to Twitch: Lane says they offer streamer armies as a feature. If you are on the same server as a streamer, there is a button to directly join their group. This way, the subscribers of a streamer can fight alongside them in a battle:
“The appointment mechanic is really the big thing. It’s so much fun and chaotic; it’s fun to play, but also just to watch. And you know exactly when it will happen in advance.”
Scot Lane
Additionally, New World is set to feature “Streamers Spotlight,” which allows streamers to identify themselves in-game. This also reveals if you were defeated by a streamer and if it was live at the time.
Two names that Lane exemplifies for streamers are Mixer streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Twitch streamer Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris, who is known from WoW.
The mechanic corresponds to Twitch’s vision of the future
This is what’s behind it: This corresponds to the future vision of Twitch, which aims for games to focus more on the connection between streamers and their fans in the future.
One of the co-founders of Twitch, Kevin Lin, recently predicted that the gaming industry will move in the direction where streamers receive concrete opportunities to play and interact directly with their fans in-game.
Twitch was acquired by Amazon in 2014 – New World is developed by Amazon.
At the moment it is still hard to imagine how these systems will look in the game because there are no opportunities for testing and gameplay videos. But one can be curious about how these “PvE battles” and streamer features will look in the game:
- in April 2020, a beta is set to start
- Release of New World is in May 2020.
The streamer and his army as target audience
The philosophy of New World to focus on “massive battles” will play a major role in the new PvE version of the MMO without enforced PvP .
Mass battles are expected to be the highlight of the PvE and PvP content. It makes sense that streamers and their viewers participate in such battles together.
