New World: Aeternum

Few MMOs got as clear a second chance as New World. What launched in 2021 with a solid foundation but content and balance issues eventually became Aeternum: basically the game New World always wanted to be, with Amazon Games listening to years of community feedback.

New World: Aeternum is an open-world action RPG with an MMO structure, set on Aeternum, a supernatural island that draws castaways, settlers, and adventurers with the promise of immortality. Combat is real-time action (no passively aiming and waiting on cooldowns): you dodge, block, and manually aim swords, bows, muskets, or elemental magic, mixing weapons to build your own playstyle. The world is packed with warring factions, territories you can capture in large-scale PvP, cooperative dungeons, and deep crafting progression that means almost everything you use in combat was forged by you or a friend.

With the Aeternum relaunch in 2024, Amazon Games touched almost everything: new zones, story missions with more narrative weight, performance improvements, and progression tweaks designed so a new player doesn't feel lost next to someone with years of playtime. Post-launch support remains active, with content seasons, events, and PvP balance passes that show the studio is still betting big on the game long-term, even after a launch that was far from smooth.

If you're into real territorial PvP, with faction wars over castles and resources, this is one of the few Western MMOs that does it seriously. And if you prefer PvE, the mix of deep crafting, a dense open world, and real dodge-based action combat (instead of classic tab-targeting) makes it feel different from most traditional MMOs.

At WickedQuest we've been tracking New World's evolution since its original launch, so if you want to know how the game changed with Aeternum or you're after build and faction guides, we've got you covered.