Amazon is downsizing its gaming division, and one of the victims is the MMO released in 2021 – but players are not giving up yet.
Amazon is cutting a total of 14,000 jobs, many of them at Amazon Games. The exact consequences for ongoing projects such as the Lord of the Rings MMO are not yet known. However, the fate of New World: Aeternum seems to be sealed. The developers have already said goodbye in the game, even though the fans are not ready to give up yet.
New World developers hide farewell message in the game
Nighthaven, the latest and now final update for New World, was released on October 13, 2025. The servers will continue to run until the end of 2026, but there will be no new content except for seasonal content.
“We did it all for you, dear adventurer.
Thank you for so many amazing stories, triumphs, and fits of laughter.
….Good luck, and good night.”https://t.co/z46r6HlXba
— Rachel Barnum (@OhThatRachel) October 28, 2025
Developer Rachel Barnum shared a location in the game world of New World on X. On a small island near the Tower of Strength in Nighhaven, players can find a farewell message from the development team.
The message summarizes the journey players have taken together with the developers and ends with the words: “We did it all for you, dear adventurer. Thank you for so many great stories, achievements, and laughs.”
Fans start petition to save the game
However, the community does not want to give up on New World. An online petition has already been signed by more than 15,000 players in just two days. The petition’s initiator hopes:
With enough support, we can show the developers how important their work is to New World fans and players. If you care about the vibrant community, unforgettable experiences, and ongoing excitement that this game offers, please sign this petition to demand the reinstatement of the New World: Aeternum team and the continuation of updates with new PvE and PvP content.
What do the player numbers say?
According to SteamDB, the Nighhaven update has once again resulted in numbers of over 50,000 concurrent players, which is well above the annual average.
However, these brief peaks can be observed with the release of every new update. After a few months, however, the game falls back into the five-digit range. Added to this are the unknown player numbers on PlayStation and Xbox. But for Amazon, this is probably not enough.
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