"New World" players are running out of in-game money
- Courtenay Brown, author of Axios Macro

Image courtesy of Amazon Game Studios
Consumers are grappling with inflation in this world. But in another world, it's deflation, Axios Closer's Courtenay Brown writes.
Driving the news: Amazon's massively multiplayer online game "New World" — recently out after a slew of delays — is dealing with a crisis in its player-driven economy, PlayerAuctions reports.
It comes down to this: The way players can get paid — completing quests, for instance — aren't offering enough coin to keep up with how much "New World" money is leaving circulation.
The result: Money is scarce, so its value is skyrocketing. Now players are opting to barter for goods rather than spend their oh-so-rare coins.
Prices for goods are plummeting, sparking fears that players won't be able to profit from their (now super cheap) produced goods.
The bottom line: It's killing the fantasy economy and may turn players off the game entirely.
- There's no central bank to intervene, but game developers could step in.
Note from Axios Gaming's Stephen Totilo: The deflation troubles are impacting a game that is otherwise overperforming.
- One measure of that: It was the 10th most-watched game on Twitch in September, despite launching on the 28th, and remains in the top 10 two weeks since launch, according to tracking service Stream Elements.