Amazon Decides to Close New World in January 2027, Receives $25 Million Offer for the Game

Key Takeaways

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New World, an MMORPG launched by Amazon Games in 2021, will permanently close on January 31, 2027 due to insufficient growth and internal expectations.
The games community is seeking alternatives to preserve the world of Aeternum, including private servers or a potential purchase by another studio like Facepunch Studios.
Alistair McFarlane, COO of Facepunch Studios, has publicly offered to buy New World for $25 million and transition it to community-run servers, which is welcomed by the community as a more viable alternative.
Any potential buyer faces challenges in acquiring New World from Amazon due to team and content requirements, as the game relies heavily on developer-created content and regular updates for sustainability.

Shutdown of New World: Community Seeks Alternatives After Amazon’s Decision

Amazon has officially confirmed that New World will permanently close on January 31, 2027, marking the end of the MMORPG launched by the company’s games division in 2021. This announcement follows Amazon Games’ decision on October 28, 2025, to cease producing new content for the game. Subsequently, New World was discreetly removed from digital stores, preventing further purchases. The closure also comes amid a significant retrenchment by Amazon Games, which has recently canceled the Lord of the Rings MMO and implemented substantial staff cuts. Despite recent updates improving player perception and gradually increasing active player numbers, the game’s growth fell short of Amazon’s internal expectations. The impending shutdown has spurred the community to discuss alternatives to preserve the game, drawing inspiration from other MMOs facing similar situations. The most cited example is City of Heroes, which NCsoft shut down in 2012 but resurfaced years later through private servers, eventually leading to an official license granted to the Homecoming server in 2024. Inspired by this, many New World fans hope for a way to preserve the world of Aeternum.

Offer to Buy New World from Amazon by Facepunch Studios Sparks Community Hope

Adding to this discussion, Alistair McFarlane, COO and director of Facepunch Studios—the British developer known for Rust and Garry’s Mod—publicly offered to purchase New World from Amazon for $25 million. McFarlane stated that “games should never die,” suggesting that community-run servers could sustain the game. While Amazon has not yet responded to Facepunch’s expression of interest, the possibility of an experienced studio taking over the project has been welcomed by the community as a more viable alternative to amateur initiatives or unofficial servers. Although New World boasted nearly a million simultaneous players on Steam at its peak, it struggled to maintain those numbers. Despite multiple free weekends and expansions, the game could not recover from its decline. After January 31, 2027, New World’s servers will be turned off, and the game will no longer be available for purchase.

Potential Buyer Faces Challenges in Acquiring New World from Amazon Due to Team and Content Requirements

Amazon has sold other projects before; during its recent restructuring, the company sold the MOBA March of Giants to Ubisoft, along with the Montreal-based team responsible for the project. However, the case of New World is more complex because a large part of the original team has already been laid off or reassigned. Any buyer would essentially need to assemble a new team to keep the game operational and produce additional content. This challenge is amplified by New World’s reliance on developer-created content rather than player-generated experiences. Unlike sandbox games like Rust, New World depends on regular updates, events, and expansions to sustain itself. Therefore, even with a license acquisition, Facepunch or another studio would need to continuously invest to prevent stagnation. As of now, it’s unknown whether Facepunch’s $25 million expression of interest will translate into a formal offer, as neither Facepunch nor Amazon has officially commented on the possibility of a sale. In the meantime, New World’s servers will remain active until January 2027, allowing players roughly a year to explore Aeternum, bid farewell to their communities, and await any unforeseen events that might prevent the game’s final closure.

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