For the second time this year, Amazon Games puts a new title into hiding

Enlarge / An ominous explosion of a previous release window, as seen in this New World obelisk. (credit: Amazon Games)

After years of fumbling with game launches, mostly in the mobile and free-to-play sector, Amazon Game Studios seemed poised to make a splash in 2020 with two major new games with heavy online components. Today, that count drops back to zero.

New World, a fantasy MMO that revolves around colonizing a new continent, has seen its public launch pushed back from August 25 to "Spring 2021." The news came in a Friday update at the game's blog from studio director Richard Lawrence, who cited the current game's lack of "middle and endgame experiences" as a reason for the multi-month delay.

Helping players understand"

This delay means the studio's original plans for a "closed beta" test, set to launch by "July 2020," have been canceled; that test would have been available exclusively to paying pre-order customers. In a way, this is still happening: paying customers will still be allowed into the game's "closed alpha" test on the original retail launch date of August 25, but only for a brief testing period. Lawrence didn't clarify how long this testing period will last, but he did tell fans that such a test will help players "understand why we want to take the extra time to make this experience the best it can be at release."

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