New World's official launch might be August 31st, but the MMO is gearing up for its closed beta test starting on July 20th that many see as a "soft launch" of sorts. The team at Amazon Game Studios took to their blog to start detailing to testers what to expect on the 20th.
One major thing to note regarding the New World test: No NDA. Testers will be able to stream and talk about their experience in Aeternum during the testing period, which makes sense as New World will want the community talking ahead of the launch later in August.
Additionally, if you were hoping that New World's closed beta will run until launch, you'll be disappointed as the test will start on July 20th and end on August 2nd. Players who pre-ordered New World will have access to the test during that period, though you can also sign up to take part in the beta itself without needing to pre-order. However, there is a cut off if you do go the pre-order route - July 17th at 11:59pm PT. Pre-orders received by then will get their codes to join the test on the 19th.
As far as servers, New World will be supporting servers in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil, so hopefully crazy ping won't be an issue for many of the players jumping into the test. You can read up on the full details, as well as how to join the test if you have access on the official devblog.
New World has been ramping up its presence online ahead of its August 31st launch, giving players tours of the various areas they'll encounter in the MMO, housing showcases, and even a fashion show. For those interested in some of the PvP action, New World's dev team recently showed off its 20v20 Outpost mode.
