Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers about the project, the software and the timeline. If your question isn't here, ask on the Discord — the people writing the code answer there.

The project

What is Open World?

Open World is a volunteer, open-source project building free software to host your own New World server on your own hardware. It covers everything from a solo world on a desktop machine to a server for a large group of players.

Is this a private server?

No. The team does not host game servers and never will. Open World is software: you run your own world, on your own hardware, for your own group.

When does something actually launch?

Nothing launches while the official servers are online. When they close, the source goes public on the public git, followed by the launcher and the server host.

No public launch while the official servers are online.

Running your own server

Do I need my own copy of the game?

Yes. The server host reads world data from your own copy of the game. The project never redistributes game files.

Can I run it on a desktop?

That is the goal. The host is being written to run a solo world on a single desktop machine first, then to scale up to larger player counts on dedicated hardware.

The community

Where does the team hang out?

On the Discord — dev updates, test sessions and questions, answered by the people writing the code.

Can I help?

Yes. Once the source goes public, contributions go through the public git. Until then, feedback and testing on Discord shape what gets built.