New World: Aeternum made a lot of necessary changes to work on console

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This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

Amazon had a rocky start in the video game industry, but eventually found its footing with PC MMOs like Lost Ark, which was only published in the West, and New World, which it developed internally. Since it launched in 2021, New World has been a PC-exclusive, but that’s changing soon. At Summer Game Fest, Amazon announced that it is bringing the game to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S this October with some major content reworks and updates, as well as a new name: New World: Aeternum.

I went hands-on with New World: Aeternum at Summer Game Fest Play Days this year, and while I only played a little bit of New World on PC, I can already tell that a lot of work has been put into making this PC MMO feel good to play on console. On top of that, the solo experience also doesn’t feel off-putting, as is typically thae case in MMOs.

For those out of the loop, New World is a fantasy action game set in the era of colonization on an island called Aeternum that travelers get stuck on. Players forage for resources to craft food and gear and then keep completing quests in order to level up and improve their abilities. New World is a pretty tried-and-true MMO that doesn’t push the needle much, but it has a solid community that enjoys it. It does require grouping up with players sometimes, and its menus and much of the user experience are very much tailored for PC.

As such, Amazon had a lot of work to do in order to bring New World to consoles. At a digital preview event I attended prior to my Summer Game Fest demo, Lead Console Designer Dave Maldonado explained that on the technical front, Amazon added things like HDR and 4K support, and it also had to rework the user interface, controls, hit detection, lock-on system, combat camera, and more so it felt good on the controller. Basically, Amazon wants New World: Aeternum to feel less like a PC MMO and more like an action RPG made for consoles.

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