Time: 2025-10-29
Despite a recent resurgence in player activity during Season 10, New World: Aeternum's development journey is officially concluding. The game will enter maintenance mode following its final major update, with servers scheduled to remain operational through 2026 before eventual closure.
The Final Timeline: What's Changing
The recently launched Season 10: Nighthaven represents the game's last significant content expansion. While servers will continue running through 2026 with a promised six-month notice before shutdown, the development team will only address critical bugs and server maintenance moving forward.
Key immediate changes include:
Removal from Steam storefront (existing owners retain access)
Discontinuation of seasonal events after the current Halloween celebration
Maintenance of in-game currency systems and microtransactions
Continued accessibility for PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium subscribers
Behind the Shutdown Decision
The termination stems from massive organizational restructuring at the parent company, including:
Approximately 30,000 layoffs across the corporation
Complete dissolution of two primary development studios working on New World
Cancellation of a planned Lord of the Rings project
Strategic pivot toward AI-focused casual games
While New World: Aeternum initially attracted over one million players at launch, it never recovered from its rocky release characterized as an "unfinished product" with optimization issues and content gaps. Despite Season 10's quality improvements and temporary player count recovery, the game failed to achieve sustainable commercial success.
Community Impact and Final Opportunities
The announcement has triggered significant player count declines, which will likely affect in-game economies through reduced trading activity and diminished participation in group content. However, this creates unique final-season opportunities for returning players to experience remaining content with reduced competition.
For veterans seeking to maximize their final experiences in Aeternum, MMOMAX offers secure New World: Aeternum trading services to help players acquire desired items before the servers go dark.