Amazon Is Winding Down Its Still-popular New World Mmo Amid Mass Layoffs

Amazon Games is winding down support for New World: Aeternum amid layoffs successful nan division and even deeper occupation cuts crossed its genitor company. The crippled debuted connected PC in 2021 and it landed connected PS5 and Xbox Series X/S conscionable complete a twelvemonth ago.

"After 4 years of dependable contented updates and a awesome caller console release, we've reached a constituent wherever it is nary longer sustainable to proceed supporting nan crippled pinch caller contented updates," Amazon Games wrote successful a blog post. "The precocious launched Season 10 and Nighthaven update will service arsenic nan last contented merchandise for New World on PC and consoles. It is only aft overmuch information that we've reached this decision."

Players will still beryllium capable to bargain New World for now, and it will stay disposable to PlayStation Plus subscribers connected nan Extra and Premium tiers "until further notice." Amazon is making this month’s Nighthaven expansion disposable to everyone for free too.

The institution said it will support nan game's servers up and moving done 2026, "allowing our organization clip to proceed their adventures successful Aeternum." In position of really agelong fans will beryllium capable to support playing nan game, Amazon said it will supply much specifications astir "what to expect successful nan coming months.” It pledged to "provide a minimum of six months’ announcement earlier making immoderate changes that effect your expertise to play New World: Aeternum."

According to Bloomberg, Amazon told unit successful a memo this week that, arsenic portion of wide layoffs, it would dial backmost activity connected big-budget games, particularly MMOs — a class that New World falls under. Updates for Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark — MMOS that Amazon publishes but are developed externally — will continue, nan institution confirmed to MassivelyOP. Amazon did not remark connected nan position of a planned Lord of nan Rings MMO.

Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann told maine past year that Amazon started its large push into games pinch MMOs because it saw an opportunity. At nan time, location weren't excessively galore titles successful that genre popping up. However, he noted that "we're evolving retired of nan MMOs" into different genres, hinting past that nan section was changing focus. (Amazon's first AAA game, nan free-to-play shooter Crucible, didn't past long aft its debut successful 2020.)

New World is still a celebrated game. It sewage disconnected to a blistering start, pinch a highest concurrent subordinate count of 914,000 connected Steam. This past weekend, it astatine 1 constituent had astir 50,000 concurrent players connected that platform. It was besides 1 of nan highest grossing games connected Steam successful 2021.

And yet it seems that Amazon's games section will now attraction much connected Luna, nan unreality work for which it rolled retired an overhaul conscionable past week. It reportedly plans to support releasing “casual and AI-focused games" for Luna, specified arsenic Courtroom Chaos: Starring Snoop Dogg, which puts an AI-generated type of nan rapper successful a Judge Judy-type domiciled for tribunal case-style debates betwixt players. Amazon's astir caller crippled for PC and consoles is King of Meat, a co-op dungeon-building platformer that has truthful acold reached a highest Steam concurrent subordinate count of conscionable 253.