New World: Aeternum Open Beta Begins in September

Amazon Games' refreshed massively multiplayer online role-playing game New World: Aeternum is getting an open beta in September.

The event is open to all players in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC, and cross play is enabled between all systems. It begins September 13 at 9am Pacific / 12noon Eastern / 5pm UK and ends September 16 at the same times, with preload available from September 11.

Players can access the opening experience and questline through Level 30 in the beta and are able to unlock mounts, arenas, and some expeditions.

"A shipwreck becomes your first step into the clutches of an island lost to time," the official synopsis reads. "Death does not exist here. An even worse sentence — a loss of memory, purpose, and self — lurks in the shadows. For all immortality gives, it continues to take.

"The mindless hordes possessed by the insatiable evils of the Corrupted only accelerate this vicious cycle. Whether by coincidence or fate, you learn of an ancient order that stood against those seduced by whispers of power. Choose how to shape your journey as you unravel Aeternum’s mysteries and thwart the Corrupted before they drift beyond its shores."

New World: Aeternum was announced in June 2024 as an "enhanced experience" to the base MMORPG and brings it to consoles for the first time.

New features include New World’s first-ever large-scale player versus player zone, a 10-player raid, end-game solo trials, an upgraded leveling experience, new character archetypes, and a revamped dialogue system. It launches proper October 15, 2024.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.