New World: Aeternum News

New World Aeternum revamp thrusts the MMO to its best playercount of the year

It's make or break for New World Aeternum. One of Amazon's many runs at the MMO genre, we can finally get our hands on the new, ARPG-charged revamp. With New World's playercount already skyrocketing, this could very well be the moment where the phoenix rises from the ashes, but only time will tell. With fellow Amazon-published MMO Throne and Liberty out in the same month (and free-to-play no less), it'll be really interesting to watch where New World Aeternum lands.

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New World: Aeternum is Now Live

Greetings, Adventurers!

Explore a cursed island plagued by mystery now that New World: Aeternum is live and every world is open. In search of rumored riches on the Eternal Isle of Aeternum, you shipwreck and are plunged into the depths of an immortal spiral. Its strange inhabitants pulled in by the winds of opportunity, or so you thought. Learn the ways of the island’s increasingly savage, supernatural cycle and forge your story to uncover the truth lurking behind Aeternum’s perpetual conflicts.

We’re thrilled for players to discover supernatural secrets together across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S! Check out our launch trailer, plus some words of welcome from New World: Aeternum Game Director, Scot Lane.

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I’m so happy to welcome you all to the shores of Aeternum, some of you for the first time and others returning for another adventure.

Over the past 3 years of live development, we’ve not only added an incredible amount of content but also learned a ton. The feedback from players has helped us make so many decisions and streamline gameplay to where we are now.

We’ve worked so hard to make New World: Aeternum sing with a controller and play well on console and spent the better part of the last year optimizing, polishing and readying Aeternum for this next phase. On top of that, we’ve added more endgame content including our first raid, the Hive of Gorgons, which is the culmination of our PvE experience, and a Free-For-All PvP zone the Cursed Mists, where adventurers can test their skills and grab awesome loot! We’ve also rebuilt the way we tell the story to really immerse players in the world.

So with that, we are extremely excited to embark on this journey together. Launch is just the starting point and we have big plans for where we want to go next. We will continue to listen and use your feedback to inform our future updates. A big thanks to our returning players and again, welcome to our new players across all platforms – we are so happy and excited to have you experience Aeternum!

I will part with a bit of advice, take your time and savor the journey – no need to rush through it.

I can’t wait to see you in Aeternum!

Scot Lane

Game Director, New World: Aeternum

[h2]Community Platforms[/h2]
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From venturing into Expeditions alongside your team to solve puzzles and vanquish powerful enemies, to joining a Company vying for control of Aeternum through Influence Races and Wars, New World: Aeternum values, emphasizes, and celebrates player interaction and community.

You can text and voice chat with other players in-game, but we want to make sure you have the tools to connect with other players, and our team, outside of the game. Below you will find ways to connect with the New World: Aeternum community, plus how to get involved if you’re interested in joining our Creator Program.

The New World: Aeternum Discord server was built for Amazon Games staff members to host events, Q&As, and talk to the community. Say hello, meet other players, and provide feedback on how to make Aeternum better for every type of player.

Follow our social accounts and www.newworld.com for exclusive content, community highlights, and the latest information on all things New World: Aeternum.

[h3]Creator Program[/h3]
The New World: Aeternum Creator Program empowers you to collaborate with the New World: Aeternum team and other creative members of the community. Whether you’re a streamer, YouTuber, wiki author, cosplayer, artist, musician, or anyone else who makes something to contribute to the love of New World: Aeternum, we want to find ways to support you. There are no requirements to apply other than a desire to create great New World: Aeternum content. Learn more and sign up on our Creator program page.

[h2]Trials of Aeternum[/h2]
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Embark on a thrilling journey with challenges spanning the shores to Shattered Mountain now during the Trials of Aeternum event. Join forces with your fellow PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S Adventurers and turn weekly achievements into highly coveted, exclusive rewards themed around the foundations of Aeternum.

Forest Green rewards for our brave Xbox Series X|S Adventurers
River Blue rewards for our daring PlayStation 5 Adventurers
Mountain Red rewards for our fearless PC Adventurers

This 3-week-long event will feature themed challenges designed to guide your team through the supernatural secrets, threats, and fortunes lurking across Aeternum. As you grow in power, you can track your team’s challenges, progress, and hard-earned spoils on the dedicated Trials of Aeternum page. The island’s increasingly savage, supernatural cycle is not for the faint of heart, but it favors those who seek opportunity. Conquer the Trials of Aeternum to seize yours!

Check out our announcement article for additional information on rewards, challenges, and more.

Thanks for being part of the New World: Aeternum community! Look forward to additional content, updates, and ways to enjoy New World in the future. We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Season of Opportunity

Greetings, Adventurers!

Embark on a new starting experience during the Season of Opportunity, our first season in New World: Aeternum. From repeatable Soul Trials to a free-for-all PvP zone, upleveled endgame rewards, and a 10-player raid, all of our major updates have been driven by player feedback. Here’s a brief overview for you to learn more about the key additions. Check out our full breakdown of the release notes for additional information on all things Season of Opportunity.

[h2]Global Server Launch Info[/h2]

New World: Aeternum downtime will begin for all worlds at 8:30PM PT (3:30AM UTC) on October 14. Each region will open at the following time and require a full game download:

All European and AP Southeast worlds across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will open at 12AM PT (7AM UTC) on October 15.
Pre-order and deluxe edition bonuses will not be available until approximately 4AM PT (11AM UTC) on October 15.
All other worlds (US West, US East, and SA East) across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will open at 6AM PT (1PM UTC) on October 15.
PC players will be able to download the New World: Aeternum game update during the downtime on October 14.

If you currently own New World, you will be able to download the New World: Aeternum game update during the downtime on October 14. Here is what to expect:

The New World: Aeternum update will show up in your game’s library page.
You will need to click the blue Install button to begin the update.
If you have Automatic Updates enabled on your Steam account, no action is required and the update will be automatic.

[h2]Target Lock Changes[/h2]

Thanks again to everyone that took the time to not only participate in Open Beta, but also leave extremely detailed, constructive feedback. We have made the following changes to target lock. Note that these changes only affect PvP—PvE still behaves as it did before.

Killing a PvP opponent in target lock will no longer automatically switch to another target.

This led to situations where an ability in progress would instantly target another player when the current target was killed. This maneuver wouldn’t be possible with manual aiming on keyboard and mouse so we removed it.

Target lock now breaks more aggressively when losing line of sight to your target.

Breaking line of sight even briefly will lose the lock, which allows easier evasion and better preserves stealthy gameplay in PvP.

A character’s turn speed is now slower when using target lock.

We’ve slowed the character’s turn speed when using target lock. This results in a slower tracking speed for targets, meaning that homing attacks will miss more often on a moving target.

Temporary - Blunderbuss now deals less damage in PvP

We agree with the player feedback that the guaranteed hit just doesn’t feel right. To mitigate this, we temporarily reduced the Blunderbuss's base damage in PvP to compensate for the guaranteed hit. We will continue to investigate long term solutions to be implemented in the near future.

[h2]Cross-world Arenas & Improved Matchmaking[/h2]

Finding matches in 3v3 Arenas will now be much easier thanks to cross-world matchmaking. We’ve also introduced skill-based matchmaking to both Arenas and Outpost Rush. Look forward to higher quality matches against other players of similar skill. Finally, we’ve added role selection to these modes. Similar to Expeditions, we will now split roles better between teams for a more balanced experience.

[h2]New PvP Zone: The Cursed Mists[/h2]

The foggy southwest reaches of Cutlass Keys are a lawless place, where the “Golden Greed” curse of La Esperanza’s treasure drives fortune-hunters to murderous madness. Even the closest of companions are liable to lethally betray one another. Gather Cursed Doubloons and resources, but you’ll have to escape before other looters steal your spoils. Get a better idea of what to expect from our developer deep dive.

[h2]New 10-Player Raid: The Hive of the Gorgons[/h2]

One of the most exciting new features coming is our first-ever 10-player raid, the Hive of Gorgons. After defeating Medusa in New Olympus, players will learn of a new threat. The Gorgons have risen, and they’re raising an army of the Hercyne. To stop them, you’ll have to assemble a team of powerful players, enter the hive, and navigate a gauntlet of challenging puzzles and epic boss battles. Learn more in our developer deep dive.

[h2]New Artifacts[/h2]

Turn your enemy’s Empower against them, improve your survivability, and more. These 8 new Artifacts, each featuring its own quest line for upgrades, will redefine your playstyle. Here’s a preview of what to expect from their unique abilities.

Cowl of Power Light Headwear

Desperate Energy: If you hit an enemy while your mana is below 50%, gain 25% increased damage for 4s (10s cooldown).

Survivor’s Coat Heavy Chest

Survive: If you get hit while below 50% health, you gain 50% stamina, lose all debuffs, and gain a potion surge that instantly refreshes your next used healing potion (120s cooldown).

Ghostly Touch Medium Gloves

Ghostly Embrace: When you hit an Empowered enemy, dispel two of their Empowers and you gain 10% Empower for 10s (4s cooldown).

Azoth Conductors Medium Legwear

Magician’s Boons: While in Medium armor weight, deal 15% more elemental damage.

Elemental Band Ring

Elemental Affinity: When you hit a target with an elemental attack (not Attunement or Damage over Time) gain 4% Empower for 6s. (10s cooldown per elemental damage type, max 1 stack per elemental damage type)

Trsna Warhammer

Consume: Gain 25% Lifesteal against knocked down enemies.

Grace Greatsword

Offensive Speed: When you enter offensive stance, gain +20% movement speed for 6s.
Keen Speed: On critical hit, gain 20% Haste for 7s (7s cooldown).

Power Stone Flail

Heavy Burden: While above 90% health, attacks inflict 20% weaken for 5s (5s cooldown per target)

[h2]New Seasonal Reward Track[/h2]

The Season Pass gives players a variety of ways to earn new cosmetics, Transmog Tokens, Artifacts, and more! Highlights on the Premium Reward Track include: 1 Set of Seasonal Armor Skin (5 pieces), 9 Seasonal Weapon Skins, 3 Mount Attachments, and 2 Seasonal Emotes. The Free Reward Track is available to all players and also contains unique cosmetic Items, while the Premium Reward Track offers the ability to earn extra rewards for 20,000 Marks of Fortune. Check out the full list of rewards in our FAQ article.

[h2]Additional Notable Updates[/h2]

Repeatable endgame Soul Trials
Sandwurm (now includes upleveled rewards)
Hatchery (now includes upleveled rewards)
Winter Rune Forge Trial (now includes upleveled rewards)
Swimming
New cinematic storytelling
New repeatable Expedition quests
New Fishing quest
Fourth maximum character slot
Cross-platform play
New starting experience
Performance optimizations
New Standard worlds
Enhanced controller support
Player Archetypes
Maximum Gear Score increase to 725

[h2]Store Showcase[/h2]
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If you can see me, it is already too late. Your fate is sealed.

Players can obtain these items individually or bundled together in exchange for Marks of Fortune. Which cosmetics will you add to your collection? Check out the in-game store for the full rotating selection.

Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

New World Aeternum "doesn't lose the MMO," just redefines the solo experience

Change is in essential part of live-service games. The Azeroth of 2004 is very different to the one we see in 2024, for example, expanded and improved with decades worth of new content. Despite only launching in 2021, New World is the same, with the Elysian Wilds getting an overhaul in Rise of the Angry Earth, and the colossal Brimstone Sands update adding a huge new zone. But with New World: Aeternum the world will change again, refining the single-player experience and adding a new raid and the eerie Cursed Mists PvPvE area. As the original New World is replaced by this shiny new version, some are lamenting its demise, so I ask senior producer Katy Kaszynski about the initial backlash Aeternum faced, and whether or not Amazon would ever consider 'New World Classic.'

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New World Aeternum release times revealed ahead of MMO's huge relaunch

After three years of support and new content, the time is almost nigh for New World's ambitious reboot. New World Aeternum bundles up all of the game's content, adds new features like PvP zones, and expands the game's reach into the console market, giving it a second shot at MMO glory. Ahead of this milestone moment for the game, the New World Aeternum release times have been revealed.

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