Facepunch COO tweets $25 million offer to rescue New World before 2027 shutdown

Gamesradar reports that Amazon's MMO New World is scheduled to shut down on January 31, 2027, and Facepunch Studios chief operations officer Alistair McFarlane appeared to make a rescue bid on Twitter, posting "$25 million, final offer," tagging Amazon Game Studios and adding "Games should never die."

New World launched in September 2021 and tasks players with traversing the land of Aeternum to gather resources and build bases; Amazon announced in October 2025 that the game would be finishing. Facepunch, the studio behind Rust and Garry's Mod, was noted in the piece for its overlap with New World's survival, crafting and base-building, and several social replies to McFarlane's posts reacted positively, including "Yo this would be massive!! Please let this happen," and "Holy shit this would be amazing." The article also notes a Facepunch employee, "Errn," had joked about asking McFarlane to buy New World, and cautions that Twitter isn't exactly a formal negotiating table.

McFarlane is described as emphatic and ready to get involved if a handover were possible, but any transfer would be complicated. Simon Collins-Laflamme, director of Hytale, offered to share tips about buying cancelled games and pointed to Hytale's own resurrection; whether Amazon will permit a similar rescue for New World remains to be seen.

Key Topics

Culture, Facepunch Studios, Alistair Mcfarlane, New World, Amazon Game Studios, Rust