‘Romantic gold rush’ MMO Annex renames to Pioneers of New Dawn, plans fourth quarter alpha testing

This past November we all got word of a new post-apocalyptic survival MMO known as Annex, which is being developed by indie studio Arctic Theory, which is comprised of former CCP and EA developers. The game’s initial announcement and a follow-up interview we had with Arctic Theory described the game as set in a “romantic gold rush” period when the world is beginning to heal from a global ecological disaster, with gameplay focusing primarily on exploration, world building, and cooperative gameplay to unlock additional biomes.

Since then, the title has taken a few important steps. First of all, it’s now calling itself Pioneers of New Dawn, with an information-filled website to match that heralds the game’s PvE-centered focus on rebuilding settlements that mold to the environment, along with features such as evolving resources, changing weather, and collaboration between settlements and players. The POND website is also taking on newsletter signups for those who want to keep informed.

Second, and perhaps most important, Arctic Theory has confirmed rough plans for closed alpha testing sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, with creative director and studio co-founder Gísli Konráðsson promising a “transparent timeline” for the game’s progress and a focus on getting “authentic” feedback from interested players. The MMO’s brand manager Dustin Hucks is also promising a “constant flow of information” between now and release.

“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,” reads a press release from Konráðsson. “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.”

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