Arctic Theory's has revealed more information about its upcoming MMO, previously codenamed Annex. Pioneers of New Dawn aims to be an innovative sandbox MMO, with closed alpha information coming later this year.
Arctic Theory's MMO was first announced back in November of 2022, with the studio being formed by former CCP and Electronic Arts veterans. The MMO, then called "Annex," was dubbed as a collaborative, ambitious game that saw players working together to survive in a world where nature has taken over following the fall of a long-lost civilization.
That world we now know is called New Dawn. It has been "rejuvenated" centuries after the ecological disaster that laid it waste, with players taking the role of Pioneers (see where they are going with this?) to survey, explore and establish permanent settlements on New Dawn for the future.
A single-shard sandbox MMO, the persistent world of New Dawn is ripe for players to explore and cultivate. The environment itself will push back against players, meaning that building a lasting settlement, trade network, and eventually colony on the rugged planet will require some balance between building structures for player needs and the "world's innate desire to reclaim them."
Crucial to choosing where to build is learning how to survey the land ahead of time. In Pioneers of New Dawn, players will need to survey the "ecological and geological characteristics of an area, as well as its meteorological conditions." Given that the environment of New Dawn is ever-evolving, the goal is to get players to revisit locations they've previously built or progress to the point where their surveying kits evolve with them, allowing for more "long-term planning."
Part of that evolution is down to the world simulation, which might see one resource dominating a section of the land, only for another to appear later on. This type of evolution should provide plenty of reasons for players to go out and explore and establish new trade routes and player settlement hubs to continue the journey.
Weather also plays a role in how Pioneers will choose their settlement locations, with weather affecting things such as building durability. Ecological factors can also change, with Arctic Theory stating that the biomes can shift post-harvest, meaning that new flora and species could come to inhabit an area where they might not have been early on.
Building settlements is core to the experience of Pioneers of New Dawn. Players will establish their settlements, set up trade posts and routes between each other, and maintain them against the environment that is pushing back against player actions. Fast travel points will allow players to quickly get around the world, while everything in the gameplay loop seems to further that collaborative gameplay that Arctic Theory is aiming to create. From helping settlements acquire new resources it might need to progress to helping safeguard an existing route from the ever-evolving world to establishing connections with other settlements to make the whole stronger, Pioneers of New Dawn seems to want to engage players and teamwork on multiple fronts.
Via the Pioneers of New Dawn website:
"To achieve advanced goals, Pioneers are encouraged to expand infrastructure while ensuring a balanced resource flow. Equilibrium is vital for ambitious projects and growth. By adding residents, strengthening trade networks, and employing automation, settlements can evolve into interconnected, thriving communities."
Arctic Theory is planning an aggressive rollout of information as it leads into the rest of the year, with the studio stating it has a "deliberate launch strategy" in a release shared with MMORPG.com. While we won't hear anything about its closed alpha until Q4 2023, creative director and co-founder of the studio Gísli Konráðsson states that the rollout strategy at the studio is to prioritize opportunities for "authentic" feedback from players, as well as "offering a transparent timeline" of Pioneers of New Dawn's development.
"There's a trend in our industry of making grand announcements about groundbreaking features and immersive world-building mechanics in games that often fall short at launch, especially in the MMO genre.," Konráðsson stated via the press release shared with MMORPG.com. "While our approach for the rollout of Pioneers of New Dawn may not be groundbreaking, it is designed to deliver on our promises from day one, and allows players to experience the game as it grows and evolves. Furthermore, our strategy prioritizes providing authentic opportunities for feedback, and offering a transparent timeline for development milestones so players feel both informed and confident that PoND will deliver on its goals.”
The team at Arctic Theory launched a new website to start the rollout of information, with sections for blogs, dev diaries, and more. Interested players can also sign up for a newsletter to stay on top of news and updates for Pioneers of New Dawn.
While no release window was given for Pioneers of New Dawn, brand manager Dustin Hucks states in the same release that interested players should expect a "constant flow of information" from "now until its full release."
"Our objective is a constant flow of information to players and media about Pioneers of New Dawn from now until its full release. We'll provide regular updates that include 3D assets, gameplay animations, snippets, content schedules, team interviews, blogs, and multiple avenues for community feedback. The aim is to ensure everyone is well-informed of our progress, the timing of our actions, and the principles guiding our decisions."
You can learn more on the Pioneers of New Dawn website. Check out below for some concept art from the sandbox MMO.
