Rust Director is Willing to Pay $25 Million to Save New World: Aeternum Before It is Shut Down Forever

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The online game New World: Aeternum is facing potential closure, but the director of the game Rust is attempting to prevent this by offering Amazon a substantial amount of money. This offer comes after recent announcements about New World: Aeternum shutting down, and many players are hopeful it will be enough to keep the game running.

First announced in 2016 and launched in 2021, New World: Aeternum is an online multiplayer game created by Amazon Games. It became available on consoles in 2024 and even featured in an episode of the Secret Level TV series, leading many players to believe the game had a promising future. However, concerns arose when Amazon Games announced layoffs. Soon after, Amazon revealed that New World: Aeternum would be shutting down after Season 10, with servers going offline completely by 2027.

Rust Director Steps Up to Save New World: Aeternum

After Facepunch Studios announced Rust‘s servers will shut down on January 31, 2027, director Alistair McFarlane publicly offered to buy the game from Amazon for $25 million. He tweeted the offer to Amazon Games, adding that “Games should never die.” It’s currently unclear if Amazon has responded, leaving the future of New World: Aeternum uncertain.

Beyond just a potential purchase, McFarlane proposed Amazon let players run the game themselves through public servers. He believes a passionate community can keep a game alive indefinitely, similar to how his own studio operates. Many players have responded, hoping the game can be rescued, while also voicing their disappointment and concern about playing future Amazon games after this experience.

Game Shutdowns are Controversial

Recently, many game studios have faced layoffs or closed down completely, leading to several games being canceled or shut off. A prime example is MultiVersus, which was taken offline and removed from stores just one year after its official launch, sparking considerable frustration. While it doesn’t make financial sense for companies to maintain servers for games no one plays anymore, players often request the ability to continue enjoying their favorite titles through private servers or an offline mode.

Recently, several highly anticipated games have been cancelled before players could experience them. Examples include EA’s Black Panther game, the reboot of Perfect Dark, and Hytale, which was scrapped after ten years of development. While most cancelled games stay that way, Todd McFarlane might actually be able to revive New World: Aeternum. Interestingly, the developers of Hytale were able to regain ownership of the game from Riot Games and have now released it as an early access title.

via Amazon Games

It’s not just New World that developers are trying to fix these days. I was reading that a former BioWare boss has a plan to completely overhaul Anthem, turning it into a single-player RPG. They think it would take around $10 million to pull off. Honestly, whether either New World or Anthem can actually be saved is still up in the air, but as a gamer, I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed!

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2026-01-17 07:04