New World, Amazon’s attempt to dominate the video game market, is facing a curiously familiar problem. Players are using bots to flood the game’s market with undervalued goods, consequently tanking the game’s economy.
The economy in Amazon’s MMO New World isn’t dissimilar to that of other online games such as World of Warcraft, or indeed our own real-world one. Resources exist in the game to be harvested, exploited, and then eventually sold in the marketplace.
However, in a turn of events that will no doubt please critics of the online marketplace behemoth, the same strategies Amazon used to dominate their real-world industry are being used to destroy their systems in New World. The problem being that just like in the real-world, it isn’t much fun existing in a world that has been broken by selfish, greedy pricks.
Essentially, players are getting bots (read: computerised slave labour) to farm resources, which they then craft into items to sell on the online marketplace (read: Amazon). Players that don’t use said bots are finding the items they would like to sell themselves are so plentiful that they can’t turn any profit whatsoever (read: undercutting).
The consequences of this are far reaching; progress in MMOs generally relies on players utilising the crafting systems to generate personal wealth so they can purchase important items that will help them continue their adventures into progressively difficult environments.
Without this income they are left underpowered, frustrated, and stuck doing a job they hate.
This week’s update is focused on resolving some of the issues that have arisen from our November Update.
📜View our patch notes for a full list of changes and fixes!https://t.co/Q2xh7ppdjp pic.twitter.com/HSbd5jgd08
— New World (@playnewworld) December 1, 2021
Honestly, Amazon’s new video game demonstrates exactly what is wrong with the company that made the game. And around these parts we call that poetry.
There are a number of ways Amazon could fix this problem in New World; banning/disabling bots, regulating the marketplace, or perhaps giving players a universal income to level the playing field.
Or they could just watch the world burn as they retreat to outer space in a penis-shaped rocket.
