The release of New World is still delayed, but a public test is expected to take place in August. After that, however, the developers want to put the MMO back under wraps. A mistake, believes MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch.
What is happening with New World? At the beginning of July, it was officially announced that New World will not be released until spring 2021. Amazon wants to publish a “finished MMO”. Currently, mid and endgame content is particularly lacking.
On August 25, the former release date of the game, an open test is planned, in which the following individuals can participate:
- Players who have signed up for the beta
- All pre-order customers
- The previous alpha testers
For this short test, the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is also expected to be lifted temporarily. However, in a tweet, the developers already announced that an NDA will be reinstated after the test until a beta is expected to start in 2021. This is incomprehensible to me.
The secrecy as a problem of New World?
What is an NDA? A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is about not publicly discussing contents that are part of the agreement. In the case of New World, this refers to all alpha contents.
What is the problem with the NDA? Fundamentally, there is nothing against developers of a new game or MMO not wanting to show their content to the public in an early development stage.
Presenting the contents is a double-edged sword and carries the risk that potential players may be deterred because the MMO does not present itself in the state they would expect. Discussions about the development process and pace can also have positive and negative sides.
However, in my view, this form with New World takes on very unusual traits:
- The game already had a closed alpha test that ran from September 2018 to June 2019. Even then, there were plenty of leaks and discussions about the content. Special press events later allowed video material to be shared, as we at MeinMMO did back then.
- At the end of 2019, New World returned with a complete overhaul. They wanted to move away from forced PvP towards more PvE and open world. There was another alpha that has been running since February 2020 and is again under NDA. There were again leaks about the game and now also new press videos.
- In August, all players should be able to play and get to know New World. But then the NDA is supposed to return again, even though work is primarily being done on refinements and endgame content.
NDA serves no purpose in my opinion
Why am I against the NDA? To me, the secrecy surrounding the game makes little sense. Every week, more players are invited to the alpha and with each additional user, there is an increased chance of leaks.
Often, those who were interested in New World already knew much more about the game than should actually be known. Conversely, many people from my circle of acquaintances who were very interested in the MMO in 2018 and 2019 have since lost that interest. And that usually because the bits of information came slowly and they themselves could see little or no gameplay of the game.
In my opinion, the NDA even creates uncertainty. Time and again, people here on MeinMMO voice their opinions in the comments and write things like: “I heard that the game is not supposed to be good” or “I can’t say why, but the MMO is still not ready for release.”
Where exactly do such cryptic statements really help New World and its fans? What exactly does Amazon want to protect with this NDA that has not already been revealed behind closed doors?
What would I wish for? In my opinion, game developers are at their strongest when they communicate openly and frequently with their players and fans. I side with Steven Sharif in this regard. The head of Ashes of Creation wants to show his MMORPG in an early stage to fine-tune with the fans. There was also a jab at the release delay of New World.
Through open communication, players know what they are getting into and developers can respond to feedback, make adjustments, or explain their views. It may well be that this is happening well in the alpha, but the alpha only affects a part of the fans.
Without an NDA, issues would have been pointed out early on, and the game could have been delayed not just at the last minute, but much earlier from the beginning.
I do not want to downplay New World, on the contrary. I still believe that the MMO has good chances to become exciting. This is supported by the fundamental structure of the game, the graphics, the visions, and many of the developers behind the project. However, I cannot understand the point regarding secrecy, and I have not encountered this so strongly in any other MMO before.
In 2020, none of the major new MMOs and MMORPGs in development will likely be released to us. But at least there are some exciting titles on the horizon that we have introduced to you here.
