New World arrives in 2020.
Amazon Game Studios
New World is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) developed by Amazon Games, and it’s coming out in 2020. Players will explore an alternate 17th century filled with magic and full of player-versus-player (PvP) combat.
In New World, players will explore a mysterious island called Aeternum during an alternate version of the Age of Exploration. They’ll have to compete with legions of undead called The Corrupted, but it’s the war with other players that will be the real focal point of the game. Players can create companies, build strongholds and go to war against others, or they can decide to not get their hands dirty, which the developers found out during the alpha test for the game earlier in the year.
“One thing we learned was a lot of the MMO players, just weren’t comfortable exposing themselves to PvP at all times,” said Scot Lane, New Worlds game director, during a phone interview Tuesday. “They would prefer to opt-in. We found it important to get people to alternate ways to play the game.”
Unlike other MMOs, New World takes a more action approach when it comes to combat. Players will have far more control of their attacks with swings of the sword colliding with their opponents, which also means position and spacing will play a part in the fighting. There are also going to be massive battles taking place in a world powered by Amazon’s Web Service that will keep the world seamless without the need for any loading.
Man the walls against the undead and other players.
Amazon Game Studios
Another difference between New World and most MMOs is the lack of classes. There will be the traditional archetypes of heavily armored tanks, healers and powerful magic users, but it’s up to the players to go down that path of one class or the other rather than picking it from the start. It’s up to them to decide what skills they want and what equipment they’ll wear, all of which can quickly change a person from one class to another.
New World comes out on PC in May 2020 for $40. Those who preorder the game will be able to join the closed beta in April.