Aeternum Shuts Down?! New World Ending Stuns Gamers!

Well, folks, the writing's on the wall (or maybe etched into Aeternum's beaches): Amazon Games has officially announced that New World: Aeternum will be shutting down for good in a little over two years. While it's not exactly a sudden demise – the game was pulled from digital storefronts back on January 15th – the confirmation of the final server shutdown stings nonetheless. January 31, 2027 is the day Aeternum goes dark.

Aeternum Shuts Down?! New World Ending Stuns Gamer...

According to a blog post on the official New World website, the servers will remain active for existing players until that fateful day. So, if you already own the game, you can still download it and log in for one last adventure. I always felt like New World had potential, and it's a shame to see it go this route.

The post also notes some important deadlines. Players can still purchase Marks of Fortune, the in-game currency, until July 20th of this year. However, a word of caution: any currency you buy will *not* be refunded. That's pretty standard practice, but still, it's good to know upfront. And, if you recently purchased the game, you'll need to contact customer support for your respective platform's storefront to inquire about possible refunds. Amazon probably anticipated some upset customers here.

The sentiment in the blog post was, understandably, bittersweet. "We want to thank the players for your dedication and passion," the statement read. "We are grateful for the time spent crafting the world of Aeternum with you. Together we built something special. While we are saddened to say goodbye, we’re honored that we were able to share so much with the community.” It's a nice sentiment, but I'm sure many players will feel a bit more than just sadness.

For those who need a refresher, New World originally launched on PC back in 2021, plunging players into the 17th-century fantasy island of Aeternum. You had to survive, build, and carve out a life in a pretty unforgiving land. The console version, dubbed New World: Aeternum, arrived in 2024 alongside some pretty substantial updates. There was even a tie-in with Amazon Prime's "Secret Level" anthology series, showing Amazon was all in, at least for a while.

This news comes on the heels of some pretty significant layoffs at Amazon, impacting over 14,000 employees, including those in the gaming division. Amazon blamed "streamlining workflow" and management layers, saying they wanted to pour resources into "biggest bets" like AI. It's always a bit disheartening when a game gets shuttered, especially when it's clear there were real fans who invested time and energy into it. The closure of New World: Aeternum also coincides with BioWare's Anthem finally shutting down, marking a tough week for online gaming.