What is New World? The MMO taking over Twitch

Amazon Game Studio’s new MMO New World is one of the fastest-growing games with streamers on Twitch, and it hasn’t even left beta yet. Let’s take a look at what all the hype is really about.

New World started up it’s closed beta on August 25 finally giving those who had preordered the MMO a chance to try it out, and the rest of us who didn’t, an opportunity to finally see some actual gameplay.

The game is set in a period modeled after the mid-1600s, where players colonize a fictional land that closely resembles New England located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Basically, the story goes, that dark forces are gathering there, and if they succeed they’ll eventually spread out to conquer the earth. Story aside though, New World does have several features that have helped it stand out already.

Unlike other, similar games such as World of Warcraft, you don’t choose a specific class or set of talents right away to start off with. You can customize your appearance, but that’s about it.

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Instead, creating your character and choosing their skills is done by putting points into your “Weapon Mastery” and “Attributes” as you progress. Abilities provide your base stats and can help you build a high DPS mage, a beefy frontline tank, or whatever else you want to play.

Using and leveling up with different kinds of weapons – ranged, magic, or melee – will unlock specific ability trees that provide spells and special moves you can pull off during combat.

But what really makes a good massively multiplayer online game, more or less, is how much fun it is to play with friends. Gameplay-wise, New World seems to have that covered with quests and leveling opportunities, challenging raid bosses and player-organized companies that can battle against one another over territories and bragging rights.

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Of course, new weapons, armor, fort fees, and other items to fight and explore will all cost money. For that, New World includes all of those classic MMO activities such as gathering resources, crafting items, and a “Trade Skills” feature to keep the gears of the in-game economy turning.

Plenty of streamers, including MMO-aficionados Asmongold and Sebastian ‘Forsen’ Fors have been trying out New World, helping to make it one of the most-watched games on the site since the beta opened up.

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New World isn’t set for a full release until sometime “early” 2021, but there is an option to sign up for free through Amazon to have a chance at closed beta access. If you really want to try it out, pre-ordering the game guarantees you’ll get in.