Amazon Games is shutting down the MMO New World in January 2027, and now a gaming industry veteran, Facepunch COO Alistair McFarlane, has offered to buy it. And while the Rust developer may not be completely serious, he also stated that "games should never die."
Posting on social media, McFarlane said he was offering $25 million for New World, and that's a final offer. "Games should never die," he added.
Another developer, Simon Collins-Laflamme, who successfully bought Hytale from Riot and resurrected it, offered to help McFarlane. "If you need tips about buying cancelled games, lmk," he wrote.
New World is closing down amid cuts at Amazon Games to its MMO teams. The game is no longer available to buy, but anyone who has it already can keep playing until servers go dark in January 2027.
It remains to be seen if New World could be resurrected, but there is something of a precedent for this kind of thing. As mentioned, developer Hypixel purchased the rights to their game Hytale after Riot canceled it, and Hytale just recently launched to big success. In fact, pre-purchases alone funded the game's ongoing development for two years.
BioWare's online multiplayer Anthem, meanwhile, just shut down. One of its core original developers, Mark Darrah, has said it may at least be technically possible to bring the game back in some form.
The topic of games going away for good was reignited recently with Anthem's shutdown and New World's impending closure. In the wake of this, GOG ompany managing director Maciej Gołębiewski said game preservation discussions are important, but the practice itself can become tricky.
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Posting on social media, McFarlane said he was offering $25 million for New World, and that's a final offer. "Games should never die," he added.
Another developer, Simon Collins-Laflamme, who successfully bought Hytale from Riot and resurrected it, offered to help McFarlane. "If you need tips about buying cancelled games, lmk," he wrote.
New World is closing down amid cuts at Amazon Games to its MMO teams. The game is no longer available to buy, but anyone who has it already can keep playing until servers go dark in January 2027.
It remains to be seen if New World could be resurrected, but there is something of a precedent for this kind of thing. As mentioned, developer Hypixel purchased the rights to their game Hytale after Riot canceled it, and Hytale just recently launched to big success. In fact, pre-purchases alone funded the game's ongoing development for two years.
BioWare's online multiplayer Anthem, meanwhile, just shut down. One of its core original developers, Mark Darrah, has said it may at least be technically possible to bring the game back in some form.
The topic of games going away for good was reignited recently with Anthem's shutdown and New World's impending closure. In the wake of this, GOG ompany managing director Maciej Gołębiewski said game preservation discussions are important, but the practice itself can become tricky.
Source