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Either deliberately or not, Amazon Games just confirmed that New World will be pay-to-win.
Addressing concerns by fans that the game might have microtransactions that will give paying players unfair advantages, Amazon Games attempted to explain the items currently on their Alpha version’s storefront. However, instead of appeasing fans, they seem to have angered them even more. Fans have since accused Amazon Games of promoting a pay-to-win model, which will unfairly disadvantage non-spending players.
Please read this letter regarding the storefront testing we are currently doing in Alpha. pic.twitter.com/IucMciGWC1
— New World (@playnewworld) May 15, 2021
Amazon Games tried to clarify its stance on microtransactions in New World through a tweet on Saturday. The studio claimed that all of the in-game payable content they plan to offer at launch will exclusively be cosmetic in nature. However, they also plan to add quality-of-life items and mechanics in the in-game store later on. According to them, these mechanics include things like rested XP and fast travel. These two mechanics do count as quality-of-life items. However, players point out that allowing players to purchase instances of these two mechanics will unfairly disadvantage non-paying players.
The New World devs explained that they mostly want to keep the game enjoyable even for the players who don’t have enough time to grind the game. “It is about supporting people who don’t have as much time to play and helping them reach the end game with the time available to them,” they say in a Tweet. Fans retorted saying that they can instead remove MMO mechanics that pad out the game’s length if they really are concerned about the game’s accessibility for working people.
Thankfully, it seems like Amazon Games want to make right of the issue at the end of the day. “We understand that this line is based on player perception,” their statement reads. “So, we ask for your patience while we test in Alpha and listen to your feedback.” Hopefully this goes beyond lip service and lead to actual changes in the game’s business model.
Meanwhile, Amazon Games also said that they might include some sort of “battle pass” system for the game eventually.
New World comes out on PC on August 31, 2021. Check out the game’s first gameplay trailer here.
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