Players of Amazon Games' recently-released MMORPG New World are abandoning the game just over a month after its launch, with peak player numbers dropping significantly despite New World's strong start. The game first released in late September, but just a few weeks later around two-thirds of users have left Aeternum.
New World had perhaps one of the most impressive starts of the year, with close to one million concurrent players on the weekend of its release, earning the game the top spot on Steam's player charts. Beating out the likes of Steam favorites such as Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, New World couldn't have asked for a stronger launch, especially as a new IP. However, server issues were initially a big problem, with lots of players unable to enjoy their experience. Despite the game having "Mostly Positive" Steam reviews, many New World players have since encountered bugs, glitches, and balance-breaking exploits.
As reported by Forbes, many of New World's players have left the game with its SteamCharts 913,000 peak playercount at launch dipping to just 304,000 players as of November 7. The week-on-week decline is a steady one, with the publication reporting a consistent loss of 100,000 peak players per week over the last four weeks alone. Across New World forums and Reddit, players have been expressing their frustrations over recurring glitches and missing features, and with no content roadmap in sight, it's not clear when the developer will be implementing the many fixes fans are hoping for.
There may be no roadmap, but the tide could soon turn for New World, as Amazon Games has announced a new way for fans to support and enhance the game by way of playtesting. From today, November 10, New World's Public Test Realm will give fans access to unreleased new features and additions in order to acquire feedback before they're implemented into the full game. The PTR will be the first testing of new weapons, missions, and quests, with users able to submit any feedback they have regarding bugs and glitches. Whether or not the program will be enough to draw in lost players remains to be seen, but the addition of new content could breathe life into the release once patched and implemented, though it's not clear when that might be.
While New World's playercount dip is a significant one, it's common for live-service games to see a drop in figures early on in their lifecycle. There are still plenty of features that players want to see in the game, some of which could be enough to once again ignite interest in the MMO. The Public Test Realm is set to add lots of new content for fans to enjoy, and while it's not known when it could be coming to the main game, there could well be a revival in New World's future.
Source: Forbes, SteamCharts