New World's first expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, will raise the level cap of Amazon Games' MMORPG while additionally adding a whole new type of rare item for players to chase, overhauling the game's controversial loot system, completely transforming one of its centrally located zones, and introducing what has long been its most-requested feature: mounts.

Amazon's MMO kicked off with a strong launch that broke concurrent player records on Steam back in 2021 but quickly faded from the spotlight as players were confronted with boring quests, a lengthy grind to max level, and little to do once getting there. The game sports a 70 on Metacritic, with GameSpot's New World review stating the MMO is a solid player-driven MMO for those keen on PvP, but is "held back by outdated quest design and a lack of interesting endgame content."

Set to release on October 3, just a few days after the game's second anniversary, New World's Rise of the Angry Earth expansion will sell for $30 (only $10 less than the base game, it must be noted, though New World does not require a subscription to play) and incorporate a number of lessons Amazon Games has learned since the game's launch. As New World director Scot Lane said in a media briefing attended by GameSpot, Amazon Games has sought to reduce points of "friction" between the game and players since launch, including overhauling New World's introductory zones, revamping aspects of its main questline, decreasing the amount of time it takes to level up, reducing the cost associated with fast travel, and more. Those efforts will continue forward into Rise of the Angry Earth and beyond, he said.