Amazon Games has detailed the schedule of which New World servers and worlds will be merged and when.
In an update posted to the game's official forums, New World community manager Luxendra said that there will be "two separate times listed for these merges" and – in a list so long I can't replicate it here – listed every single world that will be affected by the changes.
At the time of writing, the initial downtime expected to prep servers for the merger is done and dusted, and the mergers themselves will proceed on December 20 or 21, depending upon where in the world you are.
Wondering why worlds are being merged?
"From fighting your opposition in wars and invasions, to hanging out in the local tavern, we've found that a healthy realm provides more opportunities for players to enjoy the world of Aeternum," explains New World's FAQ.
"In general, when our data shows that the experience in the world has become suboptimal, the team will investigate why conditions changed and if a merge is needed. Part of our investigation includes work to find the most suitable counterpart for worlds destined to be merged, helping to ensure your time in Aeternum is fun and socially exciting."
ICYMI, MMO New World's aggregate user score recently dropped from "mostly positive" to "mixed". A glance through the review page gives lots of reasons why the game's popularity is waning, but most seem to be unhappy with a change in the game's "grind" economy, while others remain frustrated by the MMO's plentiful bugs.
Amazon Games' New World has seemingly dropped around half of its one million player base since it launched a month ago. An analysis of the data freely available on SteamCharts suggests the MMO has been losing around 135,000 players a week since it launched at the end of September, at which time it hit an impressive concurrent player peak of 913,027 players on October 3.
New World is putting on a crossover event with Amazon's Wheel of Time adaptation. Going live on December 24, the event won't be sticking around in Aeternum forever – it'll be wrapping up in just over two weeks from then on January 11, 2022.
If you're just getting started with Amazon's new game, head over to our New World Factions guide for a complete rundown of all the groups you can join.
