New World Developers Say Big Things Are Coming In 2024 And Answer For Recent Season's Woes

The New World developers did a "Forged in Aeternum" Q&A on Christmas Day, where the hosts expressed excitement for the upcoming year…without revealing specific details.

They acknowledged Season 4's release issues — mentioning the delay was attributed to unforeseen problems not detected in internal testing. This resulted in a week of post-release fixes to address stability and quest progression problems. The team expressed commitment to improving internal testing processes, however.

The discussion continued into controller support for PvP, revealing plans to initially exclude lock-on during PvP, while exploring aim assists. Players were encouraged to provide feedback during the PTR for Season 5 to refine controller support further. Future content plans for the next 12 months include a balanced focus on both PvP and casual PvE experiences, with significant developments anticipated in 2024. 

Some upcoming content that was confirmed: 10-person Trial, new events, improvements to Group Finder, and Cross World Expeditions.

The MMORPG's Winter Warrior event adjustments were also addressed, with changes aimed at alleviating server strain and creating a more balanced player experience. The decision to time-gate daily rewards was explained as a measure to prevent excessive zerging and enhance the overall quality of the event. The developed aim to align reward schemes with server loads for a more enjoyable player experience and discussed plans to introduce creative ways to earn event-specific rewards beyond the Winter Warrior event.