By asahifile Amazon’s New World MMO Support Winding Down Amid Layoffs
Amazon Games’ Future Uncertain for Lord of the Rings MMO
Amazon Games announced that it is halting support for its popular MMO, New World: Aeternum. This decision comes amidst widespread layoffs in the gaming division and significant job cuts across the parent company. Originally launched in 2021 on PC and later on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, New World has seen four years of content updates but now faces an unsustainable future for new additions.
In a blog post, Amazon Games stated, “After four years of steady content updates and a major new console release, we’ve reached a point where it is no longer sustainable to continue supporting the game with new content updates.” The Nighthaven update and Season 10 will be the final content releases for both PC and consoles.
Despite the cessation of updates, players can still purchase New World and enjoy it as part of their PlayStation Plus subscription until further notice. The current Nighthaven expansion is also available for free.
Amazon plans to keep the game servers active until 2026, allowing the community to continue exploring Aeternum. The company committed to informing players about any changes affecting gameplay with at least six months’ notice.
Layoffs and Future of Big-Budget Games
The layoffs come as Amazon reduces work on large-scale games, particularly MMOs like New World. Although other MMOs such as Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark will continue with updates, the future of the long-anticipated Lord of the Rings MMO remains uncertain. A former senior gameplay engineer suggested in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that the game’s development may have been impacted by recent staff cuts.
According to Christoph Hartmann, Amazon Games’ vice president, the company initially focused on MMOs due to perceived market opportunities but is now shifting towards other genres, aiming to diversify its gaming portfolio.
Continued Popularity Despite Challenges
Despite these challenges, New World has maintained a strong player base since its launch, peaking at 914,000 concurrent players on Steam. This past weekend saw nearly 50,000 concurrent players, highlighting its ongoing popularity. However, with Amazon refocusing its gaming strategy on casual and AI-driven games, the future of New World is now in limbo.
The company aims to roll out more casual games and enhance its cloud gaming service, Luna, while still offering titles like King of Meat, although the latter’s performance has lagged compared to New World.
Update on the Lord of the Rings MMO
As of October 30, details surrounding the Lord of the Rings MMO’s status remain unclear, leaving many in the gaming community anxious about the future of this potentially popular title.
In summary, as Amazon Games steps back from supporting New World, it reflects a larger trend within the gaming industry, indicating a shift from MMOs to alternative genres. The company’s commitment to keeping the servers running and providing advance notice before any gameplay changes showcases its effort to support the existing player community, but the uncertainty surrounding new content and projects leaves a cloud over the future.