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Summer Game Fest 2021 hosted the New World Deep Dive on June 11, the second event after the conference’s kickoff event that made waves with the world premiere of an Elden Ring gameplay trailer. Geoff Keighley, founder of Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards, headed to the Amazon Game Studio in Irvine to talk with game director Scott Lane about the upcoming MMO set to launch August 31. The two discussed the distinguished characters within the game, the changes to spawning systems, combat, and crafting gameplay based on community feedback during its Alpha preview test, as well as concerns surrounding New World‘s in-game transactions and pay-to-win territory.
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New World is set on the island Aeternum, said to hold the secret to immortality. However, a secret evil lurks in the earth, changing those who travel to the island into wretched creatures. Players logging in for the first time will find themselves shipwrecked on Aeternum with no resources or allies, and must start building a home, community and repository of weapons and spells on the lethally magical island.
One of the burning questions Keighley brought to Lane was whether or not New World would be pay to win, citing Alpha and Beta player concerns. The community is concerned that after tens or hundreds of hours of playing to earn high-level equipment and powers, new players coming in and purchasing those items would be unfair. Lane assured Keighley and the viewers the only items in New World’s store are purely cosmetic. However, he also said the game had a long life ahead of it, and the store would certainly grow from there.
Amazon’s New World: Microtransactions Explained
As Lane said, the New World in-game store is currently set only to offer cosmetic items that will hold no bearing on a player’s abilities. While the exact items that will be for sale aren’t yet listed, the New World official website states they will include weapon and clothing skins, emotes and dyes, as well as house furnishings – even a pet. The site also clearly states New World‘s microtransactions will never “create a feeling that store items are necessary to enjoy or compete in the game.”
Despite that, the New World site also lays out plans for items, such as rested XP, that can help new players catch up to veterans “at a comfortable pace.” With the intent of allowing newer players to participate in endgame content combat, the current plan is for the acquisition of such items to be earned in-game or purchased in the store.
It’s also worth noting the website specifies its store function will be tested in the upcoming closed beta test. Given the significant core gameplay changes Amazon made after community feedback from the New World beta test, if players aren’t happy with the current microtransaction system, it’s safe to assume the New World in-game purchases will get a major makeover.
Source: The Game Awards/YouTube
