Farewell Aeternum: Where to Go Next After New World’s End 😭

The news has landed like a meteor in Aeternum: New World is closing its doors. For many of us, this Amazon Games title was more than just another MMORPG. It offered a unique blend of visceral, action-based combat, an incredibly deep gathering and crafting system, and a beautiful, mysterious world to explore. As we prepare to say a final goodbye, the question remains: Where do we go next?

While no single game can perfectly replicate the New World experience, a few titles offer similar elements that might just scratch that particular itch. We’ve compiled a list of games that share New World’s DNA in combat, crafting, or overall feel.

For the Action Combat Fan

If what you’ll miss most is the dodge-rolling, weapon-swapping, non-tab-target combat, these games are your best bet:

• 💥 Black Desert Online (BDO):
  • What’s Similar: BDO offers arguably the flashiest and most intense action combat in the genre, moving far away from traditional tab-targeting. It also boasts an incredibly complex and deep “life skills” (gathering, crafting, trading) system that rivals New World’s in scope.
  • Heads Up: The endgame focus is heavily on grinding and PvP, and the game has been criticized for its monetization.
• ⚔️ Guild Wars 2 (GW2):
  • What’s Similar: While not a pure action combat game, GW2 features a more dynamic combat system than many traditional MMOs, with active dodging and the option for an action camera mode. It also has a thriving community and a great ‘horizontal’ progression system, meaning you can jump in without feeling years behind.
  • Heads Up: The art style and older graphics might take some adjusting to compared to Aeternum’s high-fidelity visuals.

For the Crafter and Gatherer

Did you spend more time with your harvesting sickle and forge than your sword? These games focus on deep, player-driven economies and progression through life skills.

• 🌲 Old School RuneScape (OSRS) / RuneScape 3 (RS3):
  • What’s Similar: The RuneScape franchise is the original master of grinding life skills. If you enjoyed the progression of leveling up your gathering and crafting professions, RuneScape offers perhaps the deepest, most intricate systems available, where every resource matters.
  • Heads Up: Both games have a drastically different visual style and combat system (especially OSRS’s click-to-move). The core appeal is in the grind and the player-driven economy.
• 🛡️ Albion Online:
  • What’s Similar: This is a true sandbox MMORPG with a completely player-driven economy, very much like the one New World initially leaned into. All gear and items are player-crafted, giving the gathering and crafting loop real significance.
  • Heads Up: It’s an isometric viewpoint (top-down) and is heavily focused on full-loot PvP in high-level zones, which is a major shift from New World.

For the Fantasy RPG Explorer

If a vast, lore-rich fantasy world with a classic MMORPG structure is what you crave, consider these established titans.

• 📜 The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO):
  • What’s Similar: ESO provides a huge, beautiful world to explore with compelling questing and a classless skill system that allows for flexible builds, reminiscent of New World’s weapon mastery system.
  • Heads Up: The combat is a hybrid system, feeling a bit “floaty” or less impactful than New World’s direct action combat.
• ✨ Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV):
  • What’s Similar: While its combat is traditional tab-target, FFXIV is universally praised for its incredible story, massive amount of content, and the ability to level every “class” (Job) and “profession” (Discipline of the Hand/Land) on a single character. It’s an excellent choice for a fresh start with a strong community.
  • Heads Up: You will have to go through a long, story-heavy early game, and the combat is slower and more traditional than New World’s.

The Bottom Line

We encourage you to try these fantastic alternatives. They all offer something special that fans of the MMORPG genre will love.

However, after you dive into a new world, you’ll quickly realize that something is missing. The unique feel of New World—its specific blend of weighty, skill-based action combat, the colonial-era aesthetic, the high-stakes open-world resource wars, and that beautiful, hauntingly dangerous island of Aeternum—is a formula that stands alone.

No matter where we travel next, the unique experience of Aeternum will not have an equal. New World will be truly missed.