While Amazon's MMO New World has had its controversies, it's proven to be quite successful. It's near-constantly listed as one of Steam's most-played games, often with over 100,000 concurrent players. That's a base that Amazon can build on, especially now that it's wrapping up the biggest problems caused by New World's frustrating launch and can focus on content and events. Speaking of which, Amazon has announced New World's first crossover promotion, confirming a special limited-time partnership with the Wheel of Time show from Amazon Prime Video.
What's confirmed for the New World and Wheel of Time crossover so far is somewhat limited. New World will be receiving a series of Wheel of Time-themed cosmetics based on costumes and props used in the epic fantasy show. Soon, New World players will be able to dress up as Wheel of Time characters including Nynaeve and Egwene, or members of the Red Aja. Weapon designs including Tam's Blade or the Shadowspawn Blade are other cosmetics that will be released. Even if New World players don't watch Wheel of Time, the designs may be uniquely appealing.
Amazon will release the Wheel of Time cosmetics for New World via its own gaming platform, Twitch. These Wheel of Time cosmetics will be available exclusively to Amazon Prime/Prime Gaming subscribers and will unlock over time via Twitch's Prime Gaming rewards system. Between December 24 and January 11, the Wheel of Time cosmetics will unlock week by week. Subscribers just have to connect their New World accounts and then claim the items to unlock them in-game.
Just because the Twitch cosmetics are all that's confirmed for the cross-promotional event so far doesn't mean there aren't other plans, too. Amazon says to expect other surprises during the event. New World players will just have to wait and see what kind of Wheel of Time fun Amazon was able to put together.
This type of event is exactly what Amazon likely had in mind when it greenlit New World in the first place. New World isn't just an MMO, but is also a platform for advertising other Amazon offerings. Fortnite has shown how successful these types of crossover events can be, never mind how lucrative they are.
Those whose interest in Wheel of Time has been piqued, the first season of the epic fantasy show is available now to stream on Amazon Prime Video. It's a story about several young fiends plucked from their small village with one of the men believed to be the prophesized Dragon Reborn, who will face the growing threat of the Dark One and his Darkspawn. It's based on the popular Wheel of Time novels written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
New World is available now on PC.