In a surprise move, Amazon Games has announced that New World Season 10 will launch much earlier than planned—now arriving on October 6 instead of the previously expected October 28. Along with the earlier release date comes a wave of information from a recent developer Discord Q&A, offering insights into upcoming raids, gear changes, open-world plans, and a shift in how players will earn their best rewards.

Season 10 Launch Date Moved Forward

The announcement came via New World's official channels, confirming that Season 9 and the Summer Medleyfaire event will now end on October 6, making way for Season 10's debut. While no full feature breakdown has been revealed yet, the developers say players can expect more details in September.

The decision to push the release forward took the community by surprise, signaling that the dev team is confident about the state of the new content. This accelerated timeline also means players who want to be raid-ready should start preparing their gear and forming groups now.

New Raid: A Fallen Kingdom Awaits

A cryptic teaser from the Q&A hinted at Season 10's big PvE addition:

"A fallen kingdom, a coveted relic, twice the fool, royal champions, demise of a nemesis."

Combined with datamining leaks suggesting a Monarch's Bluffs setting, the clues point toward a medieval stronghold-style raid. Like the Gorgon encounter, this raid will feature three boss fights and is expected to be of similar scale.

Developers are confident it will be a “banger,” and many in the community are already preparing by revisiting older raids to sharpen their skills.

Artifact and Weapon Balancing Incoming

Two of New World's most powerful recent additions—the Greatsword artifact and Void Blade—are on the devs' radar for balance changes.

· Void Blade: Set for a nerf in an upcoming minor patch.

· Greatsword Artifact: Will see a mixed adjustment—slightly increased projectile damage but a heavier penalty to melee heavy attacks, resulting in an overall nerf.

These tweaks aim to tone down their dominance without removing their viability entirely.

Gear Score, Perk Swapping, and New Resources

While the much-anticipated jump to 800 Gear Score wasn't detailed, the devs confirmed more information is coming in September. One confirmed feature is a new resource tied to perk swapping, functioning similarly to gem cutting. This will allow certain perks to be swapped out while others remain fixed.

Umbrel Shards will also play a major role in upgrading gear across all content, ensuring older activities remain rewarding.

A Shift in Gear Philosophy: Earn It, Don't Buy It

One of the most significant revelations was the devs' firm stance on bind-on-pickup (BoP) rewards for endgame content.

“The gear and the rewards are meant to be rewards for doing content.”

This marks a move away from the long-standing model where top-tier gear could be purchased via the Trading Post with enough gold—whether earned or bought through third-party RMT sources.

In Season 10, expect far more high-end rewards to be BoP, pushing players to participate in expeditions, raids, and open-world PvE/PvP to gear up.

While crafting and trading will still be supported, the emphasis will be on playing the content to earn best-in-slot gear—a change that could redefine the game's economy and progression loop.

More Open-World PvE, But No “Pointless” Grind

The devs reaffirmed the importance of New World's open world, promising more PvE content in Season 10. While they acknowledged that some encounter types don't translate well to open-world formats, they stressed the desire for meaningful challenges—not just low-effort chest runs.

Mounts, UI Improvements, and QoL Features

Season 10 will bring new mount offerings, with rumors pointing to a fox mount.

Other QoL updates include:

· Attributes saved in gear sets (less need to respec manually)

· Plans for saving weapon skill builds in the future (post-Season 10)

· Possible improvements to perk searching and dye previews, though these are lower priority

Future Content Plans

Developers are exploring new procedural expedition systems that could be updated each season with fresh rooms, loot, and mechanics—aiming to keep PvE content fresh between major updates. There's also discussion of turning influence towers into buildable combat zones, though this is still in early concept stages and may never make it to live servers.

Seasonal Focus: PvE First, But PvP Isn't Forgotten

Season 10 will lean toward PvE content after several updates that heavily favored PvP. PvPers, however, will still have a new gear ecosystem to explore, meaning fresh metas and builds to chase.

The Road Ahead

With the earlier release date, an intriguing new raid, a major philosophical shift in gear acquisition, and promises of more meaningful open-world PvE, Season 10 could mark one of New World's most transformative updates yet.

If the developers can balance the economic changes and deliver challenging, rewarding content, this could be the shake-up that re-engages veteran players while giving newcomers a reason to dive in. Season 10 goes live on  October 6—time to gear up, gather your allies, and prepare for the fallen kingdom.

Stay updated with all the latest news on Eld.gg! Plus, you can take advantage of their affordable New World gold coins service.