When Amazon first announced New World, it initially planned to release the MMO in May 2020. Earlier this year, the company delayed the game to August 25th due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a kind of apology for the latest delay, people who signed up for New World‘s open beta, pre-ordered the game or took part in its alpha test will be able to play the RPG in its current state for “a limited period” starting on August 25th.  

The delay comes a week-and-a-half after Amazon took the unusual step of rolling back the availability of its hero-based shooter Crucible following a rough launch. As of July 1st, the game is once again in closed beta so that developer Relentless can polish its gameplay. Amazon Games has been working on New World for more than four years. With how much massively online games cost to develop, it’s understandable that the studio would want to take more time to give the project a chance at success.      

Amazon’s colonial online RPG New World is arriving later than expected, but you might not have to wait much longer to give it a try. The PC-only MMO’s closed beta is due to start on July 23rd, with sign-ups available now. The finished game is due to arrive just over a month later on August 25th. The news comes alongside a trailer that shows off the game’s action-oriented combat — unlike many such games, your reflexes and tactics should matter as much as your stats.

The title is a supernatural riff on colonialism during the Age of Exploration, with would-be settlers building homes and whole companies as they fight off undead legions (and each other) on a magical island. You can see up to 100 players on the battlefield at the same time, making for some particularly epic fights.

If the world of Azeroth has been the place you’ve turned to find some time away from all the news about the coronavirus pandemic, Blizzard has something that should make your stay more productive. From now until April 20th, your World of Warcraft character will receive a bonus called “Winds of Wisdom,” which will increase the amount of experience they gain by 100 percent. The buff is available to Battle for Azeroth, Legion and Starter Edition players — alas, no love for those of us grinding it out in World of Warcraft Classic.

ArenaNet is prepping a slew of events in the meantime, including a pair of festivals, another Living World episode with a territory-focused capture mode and the return of the Tournament of Legends in early summer.

While it’s not clear exactly how many people are playing GW2 at this stage in its history (estimates pegged its active user base at 1.5 million in 2018), there’s clearly enough to warrant a third add-on. The achievement is no small feat for a game that has not only been considered an underdog at times, but doesn’t rely on the monthly subscriptions you frequently see with online RPGs. In its current form, GW2‘s core game is free-to-play — you mainly pay to expand beyond that feature set. If ArenaNet is eager to start work on a third expansion, that shows just how many players are willing to fork over money when it isn’t completely necessary to play.

As expected, the game is a touched-up version of the original massively multiplayer game in its most refined form, around the “Drums of War” update from August 2006. That means no world-altering expansions or other major game mechanics that have appeared since then. While you’ll lose some of the creature comforts of the up-to-date WoW, you’ll also lose some of the complexity. Just be ready to focus mostly on monster-slaying at first, since some of the player-versus-player elements will arrive on a gradual basis.

If you’d rather mark the occasion using the current version of the game, you’ll have plenty of options. Blizzard is heralding WoW‘s 15th birthday with upcoming in-game events, including a 25-player raid that represents a “greatest hits” of the title’s bosses over the years. There’s also a $100 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of the game that arrives in October that will include in-game mount bonuses, a 10-inch Ragnaros statue, a pin, a mousepad and some art prints. Yes, that’s a lot to shell out — this is more for dedicated fans than anyone else.