How to Archive Your New World Progress and Screenshots Before Servers Go Offline

Before the servers go dark: a quick, practical hook

Worried New World memories will vanish when Amazon shutters the servers on January 31, 2027? You’re not alone. Whether you’re a solo collector of screenshots, a guild historian, or an archivist preserving MMO culture, this guide gives you a step-by-step, 2026-tested plan to export screenshots, video, logs, and community artifacts so your time on Aeternum survives offline.

What this guide covers (inverted pyramid)

• Immediate priorities — screenshots, video captures, critical chat/guild records.
• Technical exports — local logs, client config, and how to find files across Steam and Amazon Games Launcher.
• Community artifacts — Discord, Twitch, Reddit, and forum threads.
• Archival best practices — checksums, formats, cloud and offline storage, legal notes.

Why act now? 2026 context and trends

In late 2025 Amazon announced New World would be taken offline; the community now has until January 31, 2027 to preserve what it can. The game preservation movement accelerated in 2024–2026 after several live-service shutdowns, and tools for downloading VODs and web pages became more robust. Expect increased demand for reliable, verifiable archives through 2026 — and plan accordingly.

Quick checklist — 10-minute triage (what to save first)

1. Export all screenshots (Steam, Game Bar, GPU overlay) and copy to an external SSD/HDD.
2. Record short video tributes/clips of your character, mount, house, and important vistas.
3. Locate and copy local log files and config files.
4. Download Twitch VODs, YouTube clips, and Discord media where you appear.
5. Create a manifest file and checksums for each archive batch.

1) Exporting screenshots — Steam, OS, and overlays

The single biggest, easiest win: collect every screenshot you took. Different capture systems save to different folders — here’s how to gather them reliably.

Steam screenshots

1. Open Steam > View > Screenshots (or press F12 while in-game to take new ones).
2. Select New World in the drop-down, then click Show on Disk. This opens the folder with the image files.
3. Copy the folder to your backup drive (external HDD/SSD) or upload to cloud storage.

Why this matters: Steam’s screenshot manager preserves original PNGs/JPEGs and links to your Steam ID. Use those files for metadata and context.

Windows Game Bar and other OS-level captures

• Windows Game Bar captures: open Game Bar (Win+G) > Capture > Show all captures. Default folder: %UserProfile%\Videos\Captures.
• Mac users: screenshots saved to desktop by default; use Finder > Recents or check System Preferences for custom locations.
• GPU overlays (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel): open the overlay (e.g., GeForce Experience or Radeon Software) and check capture folder settings.

Organize and rename for context

Create a folder structure that tells a story. Example:

• NewWorld_Archive/
•   Screenshots/
•     2026-01-10_Guild_Expedition/
•     2026-01-12_Azoth_Summit/

Add a simple text file per folder with context: server, character name, timestamp, and why the screenshot matters.

2) Capturing video — best formats and commands

Video preserves movement, emotes, and UI contexts that single images cannot. Use these recommendations to create archival-quality footage.

Recommended recording tools (2026-tested)

• OBS Studio (best for full control)
• Windows Game Bar (quick clips)
• GPU overlays (if used regularly)

Recording settings for archival quality

• Container: MKV for capture (safe against crashes) and rewrap to MP4 later.
• Codec: h.264 or h.265 (HEVC). Use h.265 if you need smaller files with similar quality.
• CRF: 16–20 (h.264) for near-visually-lossless. If space allows, use lossless or very low CRF.
• Frame rate: 60 fps if you recorded at 60; otherwise keep native frame rate.
• Audio: 48 kHz, 320 kbps if you record voiceover/ambient audio.

Converting and trimming with ffmpeg

After capture, rewrap or compress for sharing. Example commands (run in terminal):

ffmpeg -i dump.mkv -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 18 -c:a copy output.mp4

# Trim first 30 seconds and convert
ffmpeg -ss 00:00:00 -i dump.mkv -to 00:00:30 -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -c:a aac clip.mp4

3) Exporting logs, configs, and character metadata

Important reality: New World is an MMO; core character data is server-side and cannot be exported to a playable local save. Your goal is to preserve the evidence: logs, config files, and local caches that document your play.

Where to look (common locations)

• Steam install: Right-click New World > Manage > Browse local files.
• Launchers: Check the Amazon Games app > Game Library > Manage > Browse local files.
• User folders: search for "New World" or "Amazon Games" under %LocalAppData% and %AppData%.
• Common Unreal/engine-style path: %LocalAppData%\New World\Saved\Logs (or similar). Use Windows search for ".log" and check recent modification dates.

What to copy

• Log files (.log, .txt) — game crashes, chat logs (if recorded), and debug output.
• Config files — keybindings, UI layout, graphics presets.
• Local cache files — emote or cosmetics previews, local screenshots (if stored in game folder).

Power-user tools

Use these commands to copy and verify on Windows (PowerShell):

# Copy folder to external drive
robocopy "C:\Users\You\AppData\Local\NewWorld\Saved\Logs" "D:\Backup\NewWorld\Logs" /MIR /Z

# Generate SHA-256 checksum for a file
Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 "D:\Backup\NewWorld\Logs\game.log" | Format-List

4) Archiving community artifacts — Discord, Twitch, Reddit, forums

Preserving community artifacts is often the most valuable part of a shutdown archive — screenshots from guild chat, important threads, VODs of raids, and uploaded clips.

Discord media

• Manual: open each channel > Right-click images > Save As. This is slow but authoritative.
• Automated: use trusted export tools (check current 2026 community recommendations) or the Discord Data Request via Settings > Privacy & Safety > Request Data to obtain messages you authored.
• Respect privacy: get permission before archiving other users’ personal content.

Twitch and YouTube VODs

Download VODs with yt-dlp (2026-maintained fork of youtube-dl). Example:

yt-dlp -f best -o "%(channel)s_%(upload_date)s_%(title)s.%(ext)s" https://www.twitch.tv/videos/VIDEOID
# For YouTube
yt-dlp -f best -o "%(uploader)s_%(upload_date)s_%(title)s.%(ext)s" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID

Trim or transcode with ffmpeg after download for archival sizes.

Forums, Reddit, and web pages

• Use SingleFile or Save Page WE browser extensions to archive dynamic pages as single HTML files.
• For high-fidelity captures, use webrecorder (Conifer) to capture interactive scripts and AJAX content.
• Include post metadata (author, date, permalink) in a manifest file for later context.

5) Naming, metadata, and manifest best practices

Creating a clear manifest and file-naming schema makes archives searchable and credible later.

• Use this filename pattern: YYYY-MM-DD_server_character_action.ext (e.g., 2026-01-15_Nighthaven_Thalia_RaidVictory.jpg).
• Create MANIFEST.txt or MANIFEST.md at each archive root that lists files, SHA-256 checksums, capture tool used, and short descriptions.
• Preserve timestamps: when copying to cloud, note original file creation dates in the manifest.

6) Storage strategy: local + cloud + redundancy

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, on 2 different media, 1 offsite.

• Local copy: external SSD/HDD — fast and accessible.
• Offsite/cloud: Archive.org (public) or paid cloud (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, OneDrive) for private archives.
• Cold storage: for very large archives, consider affordable cold tiers or tape if available.

7) Legal & privacy notes

Archiving your own screenshots and recordings is permitted. Respect other players' privacy and the platform Terms of Service:

• If you plan to republish chat logs or other players’ images, get consent.
• For personal data requests, you can request your Amazon account data under GDPR/CCPA where applicable — this may return account logs or messages you authored.
• Public archive sites like Internet Archive have their own rules; read them before bulk uploading.

8) Advanced strategies and future-proofing (2026-forward thinking)

Preserving assets today should anticipate 2026–2030 technology changes.

• Prefer open formats (PNG, MKV, FLAC) and include a README explaining codecs used.
• Generate checksums (SHA-256) and store them separately to detect bit rot.
• Consider embedding JSON metadata next to each folder for automated indexing later (e.g., game_version, server, build_date) — see notes on composable capture pipelines for metadata workflows.
• Create a short documentary video combining clips and screenshots — it makes the archive accessible to future viewers; a compact OBS profile and producer kit helps standardize captures.

9) Real-world example: 1-hour preservation workflow (tested in 2026)

We tested this workflow on a standard gaming PC with Steam + Amazon Games Launcher. Here’s a repeatable routine you can use in about an hour:

1. Launch Steam > Screenshots > Show on Disk > copy all New World screenshot folders to D:\NewWorldArchive\Screenshots.
2. Open OBS, record a 3–5 minute montage showing your character, house, and unique gear. Save as MKV.
3. Download up to three important guild VODs using yt-dlp (see Twitch/YouTube section above).
4. Search for .log files in %LocalAppData% and copy them to D:\NewWorldArchive\Logs.
5. Run Get-FileHash on the copied folders and save checksums to D:\NewWorldArchive\MANIFEST.txt.
6. Upload the archive to a cloud bucket (Backblaze B2) while keeping a local copy on an external SSD/HDD.

Outcome: verified, searchable archive that preserves visuals, audio, and logs for long-term access.

10) Sharing, donating, and public archiving

If you want your artifacts to help researchers or the wider community, consider these options:

• Internet Archive: create a collection for New World screenshots and videos (respect copyright).
• Community repositories: guild websites or fan wikis often accept media donations.
• Academic partners: universities studying digital culture sometimes accept curated datasets under clear consent rules.

“Games are cultural artifacts. Preserving New World isn’t just nostalgia — it’s keeping a record of community, design, and shared experience.”

Final checklist before you shut down

1. Screenshots: collected and copied (checklist: Steam, Game Bar, GPU overlay).
2. Videos: hi-quality local captures + VOD downloads archived.
3. Logs & config files: copied from local app folders.
4. Community artifacts: Discord media, Twitch VODs, forum threads saved.
5. Manifest & checksums created.
6. 3-2-1 redundancy implemented (local + offsite + cold).

Need a shortcut? Downloadable scripts and templates

To speed up the process, we offer a small toolkit with:

• PowerShell script to collect common New World folders and generate SHA-256 checksums.
• OBS profile with archival settings (MKV, high bitrate) and examples for trimming with ffmpeg.
• Manifest and README templates for public or private archives; see our downloadable runbook and a compact creator toolkit for example folder structures.

Visit our downloads page on smartgames.store to grab the free toolkit and detailed step-by-step videos.

Parting advice — what preservation can’t do

Remember: you cannot export the server-side game state (character equipment or inventories in a playable form). What you can preserve are the traces — screenshots, videos, logs, community posts — which together document the experience. If an attempt to buy or revive the game moves forward (we’ve seen third-party interest reported in early 2026), your archives will be invaluable for reconstruction or fan projects.

Call to action

Start your archive today: download our free New World archive toolkit, join the SmartGames preservation channel to swap tips, and upload a sample screenshot or clip to our community board so other players can help tag and annotate your files. Time is limited — make your MMO memories last.

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