New World, Amazon's upcoming MMO, has been delayed again

(Image credit: Amazon)

New World, the fantasy MMO from Amazon, has been delayed again. The game had been set to come out on August 25 but the studio announced today that, based on feedback received from alpha testers, it has decided to push the release into the spring of 2021.

"We want to ensure that the most dedicated players have plenty of middle and endgame experiences as they venture through Aeternum. We want our players to feel completely immersed in the game, and know that our studio stands for quality and lasting gameplay you can trust—and that means added time to get things where we want them before we fully release," studio director Rich Lawrence wrote.

"As a result, we will be changing our launch date—and correspondingly, our final beta test—to spring 2021. We don't make the decision lightly, and we have urgency about getting the game to you as quickly as possible at the best quality—with some additions that will make the experience even better."

Instead of a full release, alpha testers, and people who have pre-purchased New World or signed up for the beta, will be given the chance to play the full game as it stands on August 25, "for a limited period of time." It's not clear whether everyone who signs up for the beta will be invited or only a limited number, but eligible participants will provided instructions on how to take part via email.

This is actually the second time that New World has been delayed. It was originally slated to launch in May 2020, but in April the release was pushed to August because of development slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's also the second big walkback for Amazon Games: On July 1 it "un-released" its PvP shooter Crucible and returned it to closed beta testing.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.