Amazon Game Studios’ upcoming MMORPG New World has been delayed yet again, this time to give the studio more time to add content before the game’s release. Less than two weeks ago, Amazon announced that its free-to-play shooter Crucible was being put back into closed beta not long after its launch in an unprecedented move for a developer.
New World has had its own release date woes, though nothing as dramatic as being un-released. Amazon Game Studios said early in 2020 that New World was set for a May 26th release date, then just days later announced that it was being delayed until August 25th instead. At the time, Amazon said that the delay was due to the coronavirus pandemic slowing the pace of development. It was just one of several studios to delay an upcoming game as it adjusted to a new remote work environment in light of social distancing precautions.
Three months after the first delay, Amazon Game Studios announced that it’s again pushing back New World’s release, this time to an unspecified date in spring 2021. The game’s final beta test will also take place around the same time. According to studio director Rich Lawrence, the delay will give the team time to add more mid- and endgame content. Lawrence says the decision to delay New World again was based on input from alpha testers, who wanted more content in the game. From Lawrence’s comments on the delay, it seems that Amazon Game Studios will be implementing features originally intended to be added after launch. Players who already participated in the alpha test, signed up for the beta, or purchased pre-orders will get to play a limited preview of the game in its current state starting on its previous release date of August 25th.
While Lawrence says that alpha testers liked what they saw of New World, impressions from previews have been mixed. New World was originally pitched as a PvP-heavy experience, but after finding that its community had a problem with griefing, the importance of PvP was dialed back, leading to some backlash from fans. Later previews had fans criticising New World’s graphics and gameplay, saying that they didn’t seem up to par for a modern-day title.
It’s clear that Amazon Game Studios' debut isn’t going how the company would have hoped. With several unrevealed titles in development and two games now suffering from huge delays and uninspiring early impressions, Amazon has a lot riding on getting New World right by the time it finally launches.
Source: Amazon Game Studios