Over a decade after its launch, Old School RuneScape remains?? one of t?he biggest MMOs in the world. Jagex's MMO is great, but sometimes, it's good to take a break and try something new.

We're looking at 8 MMOs to play if you like Old School RuneScape. Each title on this list has something to offer that will remind players of OSRS, while remaining great games in their own right.

8. Lost Ark

Much like Old School RuneScape, Lost Ark features a point-and-click movement system, which is pretty rare to find in a modern MMO. That's largely where the similarities stop, but fans of the genre will undoubtedly have a blast with Lost Ark.

The game's art style is pretty unique, and it's got your standard MMO fare with questing, crafting, and endgame raids. Overall though, Lost Ark's combat is the star of the show. It's reminiscent of something like Diablo, where you must chain skills to deal huge damage. These skills are unique depending on your class, offering a ton of replayability to Lost Ark.

7. New World: Aeternum

If the traditional MMO structure is a little stale to you, New World: Aeternum might not change your thoughts much. You know exactly what you're getting into here if you've played games like WoW, but it does it all with such ?a high production quality tha?t you simply can't discount it.

The visuals are gorgeous, the combat is free-flowing and engaging, and the main quest is a winner, too. New World: Aeternum also rewards crafting so heavily that its hard to remember any MMO li??ke it. If you put the time in to gather your resources, that's how ?you'll get your endgame gear - no grinding tough bosses and hoping for a random drop here.

6. Palia

If you like the skilling side of Old School RuneScape, then Palia is sure to appeal to your interests. Part life simulator, part MMO, Palia is a cozy game? about living off the land in a world alongside your frie?nds.

Fishing, farming, cooking, constructing a home - these gameplay concepts are at the heart of Palia. While RuneScape's offerings are more point-and-click and Palia's require a more hands-on approach, they're the same core ideas. If you're looking for a relaxing MMO, you can do a lot worse than starting a virtual life in Palia.

5. Guild Wars 2

Don't let Guild Wars 2's age fool you. It's still an MMO well worth trying in 2024, offering plenty o??f unique experiences you won't find anywhere else in the genre.

I largely want to hone in on Guild Wars 2's Dynamic Events system. It's such a huge part of the game, replacing the traditional quests you might find in other MMOs. Around the game world, things just... happen. This can be as big as an enormous monster threatening an entire town, for which you'll need a big group of players to defeat, or it can be as small as a suspicious NPC in a city who leads you to their hidden treasure. Guild Wars 2 is dynamic storytelling at its finest.

4. RuneScape 3

Well, yeah. Obviously. If you're a fan of Old School RuneScape, there's a good chance you'll like RuneScape 3, too. While many series fans are vehemently against the newer game's modernized combat and aggressive microtransactions, the core gameplay still evokes the classic RuneScape feeling.

The two games have taken different paths, meaning RuneScape 3 has tons of great quests that Old School RuneScape players will have never seen. There are even a few exclusive skills, like Summoning, Divination, Invention, Archaeology, and Necromancy. XP comes much easier in RuneScape 3, too, removing much of the grind aspect of Old School RuneScape skills. Whether that's a good thing or? n??ot is personal preference.

3. Neverwinter

Neverwinter is a classic Dungeons & Dragons MMO, with a huge focus on its engrossing narrative. Sadly, much of the conversation about Neverwinter in recent years has turned to its monetization strategy. It's a shame, really. As far as MMOs go, ??few have such an epic main questli??ne, and that deserves to be celebrated.

Many long-time fans of the game have complained about its grind. That word, "grind," is music to the ears of Old School RuneScape players. They live for the grind. Yearn for it. Yeah, I reckon OSRS players would love Neverwinter.

2. The Elder Scrolls Online

Over 10 years after its launch, The Elder Scrolls Online remains as popular as ever. Its game world of Tamriel evokes serious Old School RuneScape vi?bes, as do its quests, which are some of the most interesting you'll find in an MMO.

Elder Scrolls Online's world is its biggest strength. Tamriel has so much to see and do, whether that be exploring locations previously seen in the series, grinding levels, or completing Trials, which are ESO's 12-player raid dungeons. If you like Old School RuneScape, I feel pretty safe in saying you'll e??njoy this one.

1. Albion Online

It only takes a cursory glance at Albion Online to see why it might appeal to fans of Old School RuneScape. Visually, its graphics style draws an immediate comparison to OSRS, but the similarities aren't just surface level.

Albion Online is classless, just like Old School RuneScape. This means that your character's strengths are defined by your actions rather than an arbitrary choice you make at the start of the game. There's also the player-driven economy, with all items in the game being gathered or created by players. This is perfect for Old School RuneScape Ironman players who don't mind facing a grind.

The post 8 MMOs to play if you like Old School RuneScape appeared first on Destructoid.

Up to 40% of a game's total sales occur in the first month, according to the SSRN Electronic Journal. Consequently, the best strategy for studios is to?? ensure their titles launch with a bang. Some strategic marketing is necessary to achieve this. Piling up good reviews from critics and gamers is also vital, meaning it's essential ?for games to launch in a polished state.

Over the years, a few titles have missed the mark te??rribly, resulting in catastrophic launches. The following list contains some of the worst offenders in gaming? history.

2024 addendum

To borrow a common internet adage, it's like Concord read this list and said, "Hold my beer." As such, we felt it would be a good time to add?? to this list. It felt as though it would remain incomplete without what is currently the most talked about? crash.

But rather than slotting in Concord and calling it a day, I'm go??ing to also add a couple of my favorite launch failures. Smangeliso already did a bang-u?p job on compiling some of the worst, so those are left untouched.

13. Trespasser - Jurassic Park

The move to 3D graphics was a painful one. Over-ambition was common, and nowhere was this more obvious than with Trespasser, a game based on the Jurassic Park franchise. The lead-up to the launch promised a game that used a real-time physics engine and artificial intelligence that would make dinosaurs floc??k together an??d act based on their specific needs.

Trespasser was technically impressive when it launched. However, the game was rushed so urgently that every promised feature was only technically implemented. Dinosaur AI, for example, wasn't ready for prime time, so the din??osaur's anger was cranked up to maximum, and that was it. The real-time physics and inverse kinematic animations resulted in the thunder lizards staggering around drunkenly. It's hilarious, it's easily one of my favorite terrible games.

12. SimCity (2013)

The first SimCity was released in 1989 and became one of the most influential games in the history of the industry. It practically created the city-builder genre and laid the groundwork for all kinds of management games. Makes sense that EA would be the ones to screw that up. The publisher decided that the once single-player city builder should have a multiplayer element, and that was enough to warrant an always-online requirement for SimCity (2013). Previous botched attempts at al?ways-online had soured the already mixed feelings on the requirement, and it proved to be warranted when many players had difficulty downloading, connecting, and staying connected to play the game.

It didn't stop at the online issues, however. Many changes to the SimCity formula were not well received, such as an almost microscopic map size to build on and m?indless traffic that players would put through verit??able mazes of streets to demonstrate their insistence on taking the most direct path, rather than an easily acceptable and better alternative. Three years later, EA would remove the always-online requirement, but at that point, it was far too late.

11. WWE 2K20

The WWE franchise has had a long presence in the gaming scene, and titles like Smackdown! vs Raw 2006 and SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain are memorable games that successfully re??plicate the testosterone-flooded action of sports entertainment.

When WWE 2K20 launched in October 2019, day-one buyers ended up with a game sporting atrocious graphics that looked like they belonged on a PS3. The gameplay wasn't any better, and the numerous glitches made WWE 2K20 a pain to play. The game's terrible reception was one of the reasons WWE 2K21 was canceled. It was for the best, as when the franchise returned with WWE 2K22, it achieved d?ouble? its predecessor's launch sales.

10. New World

Amazon's New World hit stores in September 2021, and the launch was nothing but chaos. Servers were flooded, resulting in players waiting for hours before they could start playin?g. When people were eventually able to play, they discovered that while the core game was good, it w?as also plagued with game-breaking glitches. Since release, plenty of updates have been pushed out, and the game is in a better state, but it failed to be the enduring classic that Amazon was likely aiming for.

9. Anthem

When Anthem was announced, the flashy marketing successfully caught the attention of the gaming world. Unfortunately, when Anthem launched in 2019, it was immediately critically panned. Critics and gamers alike complained about many elements, including boring missions, technical glitches, poor performance, and excessive grinding. The game failed to meet EA's expectation??s, and future developments for it were cut in 2021.

8. The Last of Us Part 1 (PC)

Though the PS5 version launched without any major issues, the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 has been nothing short of a disaster. Players were g?reeted with technical issues and absurdly long loading times, making the game unplayable for some. Since launch, many have pointed the fin?ger at Iron Galaxy, the studio Naughty Dog entrusted with the port. It won't be the last time the studio appears on the list, so there may be some truth to the accusations.

7. Fallout 76

In 2018, Bethesda took Fallout online with Fallout 76. The game promised to allow players to explore dystopian settings with friends, which is an idea that has great potential. When Fallout 76 launched in November 2018, it was far from what gamers expected, resulting in the PC version scoring a measly 52 on Metacritic. Due to the bad press, many gamers stayed away, and as a result, Fallout 76 had lower launch sales numbers than Fallout 4 and Fallout New Vegas.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight (PC)

Arkham Knight's PS4 and Xbox One versions were developed by Rocksteady Studios, and the PC port was handed off to Iron Galaxy. This proved to be a mistake. When Arkham Knights launched on PC, it crashed constantly and featured technical issues th??at rendered it unplayable for many.

The situation got so bad th?at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment suspended sales of the Windows version of the game in June 2015 while developers worked on patches to fix the game. Though the g??ame has improved plenty, the historically disastrous launch won't be forgotten any time soon.

5. eFootball

The free-to-play sports game eFootball was rel??eased in September 2021. The concept wasn't a bad one, though the execution left a lot to be desired. Gamers were met with atrocious graphics, endless technical issues, and visual bugs that have made for some hilarious screenshots. With a s?core of 25 on Metacritic, it is one of the lowest-rated games of all time.

4. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition

When it was revealed that the GTA trilogy would re?ceive a remake, excitement was high. Launch day arrived in November 2021, and gamers were less than satisfied. The trilogy was rife with technical issues, ugly character models, and visual errors, which should have been spotted during the QA phase of development. To placate fans, Rockstar offered the original trilogy to all customers who had purchased th??e remake via the Rockstar Store.

3. Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is a title that has been a ubiquitous fixture in gaming for years, and not always for good reasons. When Cyberpunk 2077 launched in 2020, the experience was so bad droves of gamers demanded refunds, and Sony eventually pulled the game from the PS Store. Fortunately, the story doesn't end on ??a sour note, as developers have worked hard to improve the game, and after several patches and updates, the game is one of the most ??enjoyable open-world titles on current-gen consoles.

2. No Man's Sky

Like many other titles on the list, the developers made plenty of big promises before the game's release. When No Man's Sky launched, gamers realized that many of the promised features were missing, and the performance was poor. There was plenty of outrage, though Hello Games didn't abandon No Man's Sky. Instead, developers got to work releasing patches and updates that slowly but surely improved the game. Today, No Man's Sky is a bestsell?er available on almost all platforms.

1. Concord

Concord's failed launch was so severe that it will probably be studied for years to come. It was enough to warrant an update on this list. It was reportedly the result of years of work and millions upon millions of dollars, and lasted two weeks before it was pulled from marketplaces with a refund being issued to those who had bought it. At least one report suggests that Sony dumped $400 million into the project and was betting on it being the future of the brand. Take that with a grain of salt; it hasn't yet been substantiated. However, the live service sector of the industry is packed to the gills with people hoping to be the next Fortnite, and simply dropping an expensive game in there is not enough to capture the crowd. Whether or not Concord reappears in some f??orm in the futur??e remains to be seen.

There's no shortage of games with failed launches, and the future will feature plenty more. From these cases, we learn that although delays may be frustrating, terrible launches are far worse. We also see that even the worst launches don't have to spell the end for a game so long as devel?opers persevere.

The post Top 13 worst game launch?es in gaming history, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

I always had mixed feelings about the original New World. I first played it when it launched in 2021 and got to experience the full mix of genuinely enjoyable gameplay, questionable server issues, and quests that repeated the same few objectives throughout most of my playthrough. Even with all that said, I still dedicated? over 400 hours to it, and I enjoyed the pace change from more traditional MMOs.

Fast forward to 2024, Amazon Games announced a rerelease for this moderately successful MMO named New World: Aeternum. Since I'd been away from the community?? for a while, I had no idea what to expect going into it, and I'll admit to feeling some slight pe?ssimism initially. Nonetheless, I looked forward to accepting and hopping into the Open Beta's early access weekend.

Fortunately, while it had a couple of mishaps here and there, New World: Aeternum did a great job at adding refreshing and interesting changes with?out turning it into a messy mish-mash of random features. I'll admit it: I'm hooked again, even if this revamped version has its ups and downs.

I was even more pleasantly surprised when I learned that this is a free, fresh-start rerelease for anyone who already owns New World. While it seems mostly intended for those with the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, anyone with the base game will also see a good chunk of Aeternum's changes. At the very least, I was happy to hear that, outside of losing our original characters and servers, we would all get the chance to experience New World: Aeternum regardless of whether we had the expansion. Despite some pessim??ism at first, this was a positive thought I kept in mind as I was playing the open b??eta.

A rough start

I won't harp on my first few minutes of tackling New World: Aeternum's servers too much, especially since this was a beta test, but I still felt it was worth mentioning as someone who has firsthand experience with New World 1.0's launch. While I didn't encounter long queues or crashes like in the latter, minor error hiccups occurred, with a real possibility of them resurfacing later. Admittedly, this much is par for the course for live-service game launches and is ultimately up to personal discretion, but the parallels it drew to New World's 2021 launch lingered in my mind for some time.

That is until I finally entered the game and immediately experienced some new changes within the first few minutes. Any ?bad taste in my mouth at that point vanished instantly in favor of curiosity and intrigue. Wanting to see what other new features I'd discover, I dove in eagerly and forgot about my initial sour attitude going into this. Instead, it was replaced with fascination and optimism, albeit some skepticism that lingered even a couple of hours into my playthrough.

A few changes make all the difference

New World: Aeternum starts us off in a familiar setting, introducing us to Father Russo, Captain Thorpe, and crewmates on a pirate ship before diving into the game's character creator. Immediately, I recognize two massive changes: the polish of New World's new cutscenes and the revamped character menu. Rather than just designing your appearance and figuring out your weapons later, the game introduces you to archetypes, which are basically traditional character classes that impact your starting stats, weapons, a??nd armor. Afterwards, you go into appearance and name-changing as usual.

I've always liked having a character class in games, especially MMOs, even if New World's original open-ended a??pproach was more interesting to start. Since archetypes affect both your weapons and trade skills, giving you a 50-level boost to various skills, I'm left feeling curious about how it'll impact early and mid-game skilling, particularly once the trading post gets involved.

From this point onward, my optimism grew, and I suddenly felt genuinely eager to keep playing to see what other changes there were. By this moment, I had the game open for about ten minutes, and five of those were figuring out a weird server bug. Since I used a sword and shield during my first playthrough of New World, I entered New World: Aeternum as a ranger, giving my character a bow and spear to spice things up. There's a musketeer option, too, but I nev??er really lik?ed the feel of guns in the original and wanted to stick to something more familiar.

My unexpected feelings of intrigue and curiosity continued as I witnessed more of the game's cutscenes and, later, the tutorial. Although my memories of the original New World's tutorial were a little foggy due to how long it's been since I've seen this, I immediately recognized the stark contrast in the setup, our protagonist's background, and the sequen?ce of events that happen in it. We're no longer just a random person who stumbled into a corrupted plane of existence and were for??ced to fight random enemies for reasons we'd barely pay attention to.

Instead, New World: Aeternum lays everything out through fascinating storytelling, a plot that actually makes sense, and surprisingly entertaining cutscenes that I enjoyed from beginning to end. We are a pirate who was part of the ship's crew, with Father Russo and Captain Thorpe's situations laid out in detail in front of us. I won't spoil what happens, but let's just say it makes more sense than whatever happened in the original New World. Even the tutorial and your usual ol' learning of the game's controls make sense now as you actively fight against the now-corrupted crew and have to fight you??r way out of the mess before your character dies.

Every change that New World: Aeternum introduces builds itself up to be a worthwhile successor to its original form even within its first few minutes. These feelings flourished as I played the game and noticed major and subtle quality-of-life changes, character interaction changes, and quest tweaks that made New World feel alive and refreshing. As time went on, though, I noticed that while there were plenty of differences, there were just a?s many similarities that were difficult to miss.

Something feels a little familiar

After leaving the vastly improved tutorial that shocked me beyond belief, I finally entered New World's main map. From the get-go, I was expecting a completely different game from what I experienced over two years ago. Instead, there were numerous similarities, and I noticed this almost immediately. Sure, the quest themselves are different, and there's enough changes that I wouldn't call New World: Aeternum identical to its original. Nonetheless, I wouldn't quite call ?it a day-and-night difference betw??een the two versions.

One of the first places I checked was my weapons and skills. After all, I eventually got pretty involved in fine-tuning my builds so I could get more involved in expeditions in the original. Although I didn't expect a complete revamp, I wasn't anticipating the skills and buffs to be almost identical. I don't mind this, as that means I won't have to use too much brain power to come up with completely new builds from scratch,?? but I was hoping there'd be a few noteworthy changes.

The map and area names are also quite similar, with some level differences and quest-specific changes, as is the general mission structure. I've always enjoyed New World's quests despite most of them telling you to kill enemies and find items, and New World: Aeternum is no different. There's just something about seeing how your actions directly impact the world around you and the liveliness of the character's interactions with you that make generic quests feel worthwhile. You may not get vastly different mission structures in Aeternum, but you will get more interesting versions of what alrea??dy existed.

The last main similarity I noticed immediately is the combat. While New World: Aeternum's feels much more polished and fluid than in its predecessor, it's still the same at its core. Trust me, I'm happy that I won't have to learn a completely new f??ighting style, but there are certainly opportunities to a??dd some flair to combat, enemy types, and even basic movement that you won't see in this new version. The enemies themselves are also mostly the same, aside from some quest-related bosses.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite find an opportunity to try out PvP during this part of the open beta, but I'm definitely looking forward to it in the future. I had a whole basket of issues with it in the original version of New World, but with how much smoother combat feels now, I'm optimistic that the?re's been some noticeable improvemen??t.

Despite these similarities, there are a bunch of changes that make New World: Aeternum interesting. NPC dialogue was completely reworked, several new quests feature some pretty fun objectives and boss battles, and most of the characters actually serve a purpose beyond just spouting exposition and dialogue that goes in one ear and out the other. There are enough changes in Aeternum to make the experience feel fresh and exciting while st??ill staying familiar enough that someone who hasn't played for a wh??ile can get back into the swing of things without getting overwhelmed.

The world is old, but the experience is new

Although this might sound like I got bored or disinterested in Aeternum quickly, I still managed to fly through a good chunk of the open beta's content without even thinking about the time. If New World: Aeternum is so simil??ar to the original, why was I able to play so much of it again without ?feeling bored?

Surprise. This feeling of surprise over witnessing how different yet familiar New World: Aeternum feels and how these changes are enough to revitalize my desire to replay it all over again. The original New World served as a valuable lesson for Amazon Games, and Aeternum's changes reflect this in every way.

New World: Aeternum also seems to be geared towards a few specific audiences. If you were on the fence about the original, Aeternum might be just what you need to try this game out. If you already enjoyed New World but just got a little tired of it, there's enough new content to enjoy that'll make the experience feel fresh. For anyone looking for a direct sequel, though, you won't find that here, and that's completely okay. If you're me, you'll feel overall content with the direction Aeternum is moving toward but still step? forward cautiously in case the late-game experience goes awry or any drastic changes occur late?r down the line.

New World: Aeternum's open beta will run from September 13 to 16 on Xbox Ser??ies X/S, PS5, and PC via Steam. Its full release is planned for October 15, 2024??.

The post New World: Aeternum previe?w: A familiar world with a refreshed coat of p??aint appeared first on Destructoid.

Following the release of the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion for New World, the Amazon Games MMORPG has revealed its plans for S?eason 4. Titled New World Eternal Frost, the new season is launching with new features and events for both those who have bought the expansion and those still on the base game.

All new story, Expedition, and Artifacts

For those that have purchased the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, an all new storyline will be front and center in Season 4. A Knight of the Round Table has discovered forbidden knowledge of the Ancients, and looks to subjugate humanity with it. Players wil?l try to track down and vanquish the Knight before he is successful.

A Level 65 Expedition set in the Great Cleave will also be introduced in Eternal Frost. The Glacial Tam is a frozen cavern hidden be??yond the Empyrean Forge. In this high-level expedition, players are tasked with locating and harnessing the primordial magic of the Empyrean Flame.

Finally, eight new Artifacts will be available to expansion-owners in New World Eternal Frost. Each of the eight powerful weapons and armors also have their own quests. Examples include a lightning-focused Boltcaster Bow, speed-enhancing Winged Shoes, and the ability to freeze enemies with The Frozen G??auntlet.

Seasonal Events for all players

Regardless of whether you have the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, some new Events and features are coming in Season 4 as well. The Winter Convergence Festival allows players to visit Winter Villages and take on holiday-themed quests. Players can collect Winter Tokens to earn exclusive rew?ards including skins, emotes, housing items, and more.

A new open-world boss called the Winter Warrio??r is threatening to spread a Forever Winter. Players can pull together a party of 20+ others to take down the new open-world boss for seasonal rewar?ds.

Later in Season 4, cross-world Expeditions and an improved Group Finder are also being added to New WOrld. The new Gr??oup Finder will be a one-click system, allowing players to automatically assmelbe a role-balanced and cross-wor??ld group without the need of a lobby.

New World Eternal Frost, Season 4, launches on PC on December 12.

The post Amazon Games details New World Eternal Fros??t and S??eason 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Amazon to allow free server transfer to ease strain

Yesterday saw the launch of New World, Amazon Games' brand new colonization title. Out of the gate, the new MMO has already attracted the interest of a huge audience, with over 700,000 players logg?ing in on PC at the game's launch.

As is the case for so many MMO launches, this new influx of players has seen Amazon's server strained to capacity, leading to long queue times for would-be digital explorers. With the playerbase hitting a peak of 707,000, many purchasers of New World were left unable to play the game at launch, an issue that Amazon Games has addres?sed in a recent statem??ent.

"We understand that some players are experiencing lengthy queue times and we are working hard on a few things to help address these issues," read the comments on the official website. "We are continuing to stand up additional ??servers a??nd will expand the capacity of our existing servers once we have properly tested these changes. Our sole focus right now is to ??get e??veryone logging in and playing quickly."

To this end, Amazon Games will be offering free-of-charge server tra??nsfers at some point in the coming fortnight, with the aim of helping players find a suitable home in which to park their accounts and respective characters. The studio is working in the meantime to reduce server strain and get everybody looting and pillaging their way? through the Aeternum Island.

New World is available now on PC via Steam.

The post Amazon’s New World MMO hits 700,000+ players at launch appeared first on Destructoid.

The MMO is taking a little extra time

Amazon Games' MMO New World is taking another month to gets things just right. The studio announced today that after hearing some feedback from its recent Closed Beta, New World will be pushed back to Sept. 28, 2021.

In today's statement, the team says it is humbled by the support New World has received so far. Players?? have also provided a "ton of feedback" based on the Closed Beta content, and so Amazon Games is taking a few extra weeks to?? "smash bugs, improve stability, and polish the game."

//t??witter.com/playnewworld/status/1422969580394319877

[Update: Amazon later clarified?? that players accumu?lated over 25 million hours played in the beta, not 16 million.]

The team acknowledge that this isn't the first time that New World's launch date has m?oved, but it wants to be su??re it can deliver the "highest quality game possible at launch."

New World was announced as one of three games that Amazon would be developing back in 2016, alongside Crucible and Breakaway. The road's been rough for Amazon Games since then, as both Breakaway and Crucible have been shuttered over the last few years.

Though New World has been pushed back a few times, the fantasy-colonial-era MMO did recently hold a Closed Beta. And in terms of hands-on impressions, it seems like the MMO has a little more push behind it, and hopes are a bit higher for this game.

If an extra month is what's needed to make a good impression on the MMO player base at large, then that's probably for the best. We'll what the New World has in store for it??s global launch day players when? it comes ashore on Sept. 28, 2021.

The post Amazon’s New World pushed back to September 28 appeared first on Destructoid.

The latest delay has pushed the MMO to August 31, 2021

Amazon has a shaky track record for its home-grown games initiative, but maybe there's hope yet for New World.  Underline maybe. Not that surprising??ly, the MMO's spring 2021 launch won't pan out – it's been delayed to August 31 to bolster endgame activities – and we'll see what's what in the next beta.

Folks who pre-order New World will be able to join the closed beta on July 20, the team announced.

On top of what players have already seen (including our own Chris), this beta will include an endgame zone with an "exiled empress" (Ebonscale Reach), five-player instanced PvE dungeons (Expeditions), and a 20v20 Outpust Rush mode in which teams clash over strongholds in a "primordial river basin."

What's new since the last check-in? The developers? say they've "polished the combat system, added quest variety, expanded weapon and armor variety, added fishing, expanded the map to include a new region Reekwater, overhauled our craftin??g system, and continued to add mid-game and end-game content." The alpha build will keep pushing ahead with EU servers going online on March 30.

I'm not exactly rooting for Amazon's big foray into the game industry, but more than Crucible, this kooky fantasy game has my attention out of morbid curiosity. If New World can stick the landing in August and (crucially!) get the resources it needs to stay aro??und for years to come, more power to it. We shall see.

The post New World will have a meat??y closed beta in July right before the full launch appeared first on Destructoid.