Amazon Game Studios’ upcoming MMO New World is the latest major release to be delayed. It’s now set to release on August 25th for PC with the closed beta coming in July. The developer revealed in an update that the recent COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, along with the challenges of remote work, was the reason for the delay.
“Like most of you, our entire team has been sequestered as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. While we are still making great progress, developing an ambitious MMO like New World remotely has introduced some challenges. We want to make sure that we have the time needed to make New World the very best it can be for our players. As a result, we’ve chosen to delay the game’s release in order to reach our quality bar as we work remotely for the foreseeable future.”
Alpha players will still be able to access the game and the development team will share more details before launch. As the first game from Amazon Game Studios Orange County, New World takes place on a fictional island that’s host to mysterious powers. Players arrive on the island and run afoul of three different factions – The Lost, Angry Earth and Ancients – each with their own ties to the environment.
New World is one of many games to be delayed due to the recent pandemic. The list currently includes Mojang’s Minecraft Dungeons, inXile’s Wasteland 3, Cradle Games’ Hellpoint, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 and Marvel’s Iron Man VR from Camouflaj. We’ll see if any other potential delays crop up in the coming months.