The New World player count has steadily declined since the MMORPG released back in 2020, with Amazon Games’ magical seventeenth century universe failing to wow fans. However, the shores of Aeternum are bustling once more in the wake of new fresh start worlds and an extensive Twitch drop campaign.
Unfortunately Amazon’s New World was quickly overshadowed by its sister hack and slash MMORPG, Lost Ark. Right from the get go the game was plagued by server issues, rule breakers, and a grind that just didn’t really feel worth it, deterring newcomers and quickly growing stale for even the most avid fans.
While the new Brimstone Sands update hasn’t lured people in directly, Amazon’s extensive Twitch drop campaign (spearheaded by MMORPG behemoth Zack ‘Asmongold’) has enticed people back to the broken shores of this magical universe. Coupled with new fresh start worlds and some desert-themed quests, the game’s player count has surged overnight, pulling in well over 100k adventurers.
The data on SteamDB is genuinely a little jaw dropping – I know I certainly inhaled a bit upon seeing it. At 7AM UTC on November 2 the player count was a measly 10,519, an all-time low. However, by 8PM the same evening the player count had surged to 119,390, with 198,311 viewers tuning in on Twitch.
For those who are not mathematically inclined (aka me, I’m a journalist remember), that’s a jump of 108,871 players according to my trusty iPhone calculator. Given the game has remained relatively stagnant, the stats are pretty mindblowing.
While the new update likely reeled in some familiar players, the main lure here appears to be the Twitch campaign. With free Twitch drops up for grabs for watching streams, it’s easy to see why people would tune in. Additionally, Asmongold made a triumphant return to Aeternum via his backup channel, Zackrawrr. Given he’s an avid proponent of the game and started streaming it again on November 2, this hardly seems coincidental.
Either way, Aeternum is very much alive and kicking again, and that’s pretty exciting. If you’re diving in for the first time, you may be wondering which New World faction to pick – thankfully, we have all the answers. If you’re PvP inclined, don’t worry, we have a New World PvP guide to help you beat out the competition.