Amazon's New World launch day hasn't gone well at all

A whole new world. For some.

What you need to know

• After much hype and a last-minute delay, Amazon's epic MMORPG New World is finally available.
• However, launch day is hardly going well.
• Players are facing low server capacity and incredibly long waits to play the game.

Today was supposed to be the day a ton of MMO fans have been eagerly awaiting, as Amazon's New World finally opens its digital doors to the world. What a shame then that launch day has been something of a catastrophe. Despite previous beta testing including server capacity, New World players are facing either excruciating waits to play or flat out can't get in.

And for a company that operates one of the world's largest server platforms, it's embarrassing. That's not to say it hasn't been handled with good intentions, but based on the popularity of the beta alone, Amazon should have known what was coming.

So what exactly is the problem? You only have to check out some of the launch day Steam reviews or dive into Reddit to find many examples of unhappy players. Some of the EU servers are currently reporting waits of days not hours to get on and play, as the launch capacity for each server has been capped at 2,000 players.

For those playing the game, everything seems mostly OK, but given that peak times haven't hit at this point, it's hard to see how this is going to please the player base. It's not as if this is a free-to-play title, either. You would expect that Amazon will be ramping up server capacity, and no doubt in stages to ensure stability, but if the beta wasn't to help make this sort of thing better, what was it for other than generating hype?

What can you actually do though if you're wanting to play New World on launch day? Well, you have two choices. If by come miracle you come across a server under the initial 2,000 player cap, jump into it if you can. That's about the only way to get a space right now. The alternative is you wait it out for Amazon to increase capacity and for the initial rush of players to die down a bit. Not the greatest solution, I know, but unfortunately everyone's in the same boat.

Journey into the unknown

New World

$40 at Amazon $40 at Steam

Set sail on this brand new MMORPG

New World is shaping up to be one of the most interesting MMORPGs when it launches on Sept. 28.