Do not be fooled by the rebranding of New World--Aeternum does not represent a new game, or a spiritual successor. It is simply an update.

New World was Amazon’s big move into the MMO world. When it launched in 2021, a lot depended on it - especially after the embarrassing failures of Crucible. It could not have gone any better. A perfect storm of Amazon's marketing and a hungry audience for a blockbuster MMO drove players to Aeternum.

Around a million settlers fought it out in the new fantasy land at its peak. This was Amazon's first real videogame success. This is a rare number of concurrent players, especially for a game that costs money. However, the action-based combat model and nods to the survival and crafting genres kept it in good stead.

By spring 2022, the new MMO smell had faded and these numbers were down to 20-30,000. This is a high number. New World was able to maintain its popularity by attracting tens of thousands of players who played together. By May, the number of players had dropped to less than 10,000.

This dip was probably due to the impending release of New World: Aeternum. And this is where New World gets a little confusing. Amazon treated New World: Aeternum as if it was a brand new game. The initial announcement was mainly focused on the console launch, but completely ignored the fact that this was an MMO. Amazon stated that it was an action RPG you could play with friends.

A dramatic pivot is true, but it's almost all marketing. During a June presentation, I was told that it was a "spiritual sequel", but this is not true. New World: Aeternum, while a simple update, is a little different from the usual MMO updates because of the way it splits up the game. Existing servers are now 'legacy realms', which function the same as they always did. You'll have to create a new character in a'standard' world if you want to enjoy the changes. You can create new characters and even transfer existing characters to the legacy servers. However, it does not work the other way round.

It's not even close to the level of a major update that Amazon initially touted. I should also add that the changes are generally positive. The addition of a 10-player raid, free-for-all PvP, cinematics, a brand new starting experience, and swimming. Amazon has done a lot of good things, and there's no doubt about that. But, the rebranding and confusing messaging are not justified.

MMOs are constantly changing. WoW, for example, often includes game-wide changes just before the release of a new extension, such as The War Within's Warband System or the introduction Chrome time, which allows players to level up in any expansion they choose, just before the release of Shadowlands. This is a normal part in the lifecycle of an MMO, as it adapts based on feedback, changing player populations, and broader gaming trends.

This is not a Final Fantasy 14-style overhaul where the entire experience is rebuilt from scratch. FF14 was infamously terrible, closed down, then returned like a phoenix to become one of the best online games around. If you tried FF14 in the past and hated it you should give ARR (and all its subsequent expansions) a try, because you may love it. It's difficult to imagine saying the exact same thing about New World:Aeternum. You're likely to feel the same way about it now if you didn't like it before.

If you were looking for something more specific and wanted a more polished PvP experience or levelling, you may find that this is enough to keep you entertained. The proof is in the pudding and that will be served tomorrow, October 15th.

I was one of those people who didn't like New World in 2021. In my New World review, I stated that "New World's engaging faction rivalries and crafting are held back by an abysmal world and abysmal pve." In 2022, despite some improvements, it wasn't a game I was too fond of, either. In my State of New World article, I said that "things aren't going well." I will give it another try tomorrow and share my impressions shortly after. So keep an eye out later this week.