While New World might not be a true sandbox MMO the likes of EVE Online, it soon might have a similar reputation for skullduggery.New World has been out for just over two weeks and already players are beginning to screw each other out of vast quantities of gold, the in-game currency.

Just this week, there have been multiple reports of entire factions collapsing merely due to the awful misdeeds of some New World players. The game divides its players into three factions, each of which will be in perpetual war with one another for control of different zones within the game. They can create companies or guilds that represent each faction, and can declare war on others for direct control of settlements and other territories.

When players reach a certain level in New World, they’re given a choice of joining one of three factions that available in the game. The three groups - the Marauders, the Covenant, and the Syndicate - are at constant war with each other for control of the game’s numerous zones. These factions are then further subdivided into companies - essentially the game’s version of guilds - that attempt to claim settlements and their surrounding areas for the benefit of their New World faction. Once a zone is claimed by a company, another guild from an opposing faction is presented the opportunity to take control of it by going to war.

However, it seems that company leaders aren't the most trustworthy lot according to Redditor Paradoggs, who posted a story of deceit and betrayal (thanks, PC Gamer). Paradoggs' post talks about how a company leader on the Heracleion server scammed the company members by convincing them to pool in their gold before absconding with it all.

Paradoggs goes on to explain that on Heracleion, one of New World's many servers, he belonged to an unnamed company that recently lost a war against another one of New World's factions. Now without territory to call their own, the guild leader began begging Paradoggs' company to cough up every last bit of gold they could in order to pay the fee needed to acquire the deed to the last remaining unclaimed zone on the server. Since winning wars was obviously not this person's forte, this was this company's last shot at owning land. Paradoggs says 200 players donated to fill the company coffers to the tune of about 60,000 gold—which is an unfathomably large sum for most players. That's when Paradoggs' guild leader emptied all the money into his character's wallet and disappeared.

The leader—along with his friends—then created new characters, transferred the gold they stole, and deleted their old ones so they could start over without others knowing who they were. “Ninety people from the guid are left alone, broke, and betrayed,” said the devastated player. “The faction—the smallest on this server—is in disarray and full of betrayal.”

While the way the game is set up doesn’t directly outlaw this sort of behavior, it likely ruins the experience for those who are left without territory, a company, and gold. However, New World is understandably still in its infancy and, in time, more upstanding and powerful companies may emerge across its different factions, of which will hopefully reduce the occurrences of these unfortunate incidents and create a better experience for all on the server.