Nexon has announced that they will move their famous MMORPG series MapleStory into a new direction, because MapleStory Universe will leverage the Polygon blockchain and introduce NFT rewards. The development team wants to supercharge the MMO with an enhanced reward experience powered by blockchain technology.
The MapleStory brand is now 20 years old, as it launched with great success in South Korea and Japan in 2003. Later the franchise attracted millions of gamers in China, South America, Europe and the USA.
Essentially it’s a 2D side-scrolling platform game, and players need to venture into dungeons, combat monsters, collect materials, craft items and so on. Like any good MMORPG, the game features professions, guilds, a trading market and so on.
Here we are twenty years later, and Nexon announced MapleStory Universe. This is what you need to know.
In MapleStory Universe not everything will be an NFT
Nexon is building MapleStory Universe with the idea of Reward Experience, but blockchain should boost this concept to new levels. This will mean that NFT game items will come with utility outside the game, and that rare items will see increased demand. Nexon calls this the realization of a borderless virtual world.
Players will be able to earn NFTs by playing the game. However, these NFTs will come in limited quantities, and players can then trade them among themselves. Items that come in limited numbers, tend to be easier to manage against inflation.
MapleStory Universe coming to PC and mobile
MapleStory Universe is an overarching concept that feeds two games: MapleStory N and MapleStory N Mobile. As the name suggests, the latter is a game for tablets and smartphones, while the former is a PC game. NFTs earned in the PC game can be used in the mobile game as well.
Content creation in MapleStory Universe
Content creators can make their own adventures using the MapleStory N World sandbox platform. Developers that want to go even further, can tap into the MapleStory SDK and develop their own applications. Nexon thinks scalability is endless. It looks like MapleStory is going into the direction of Roblox and Fortnite Creative.
Content creators will earn rewards based on their contribution. Nexon is working on introducing a token system for this.
Will MapleStory Universe have a token?
Yes, Nexon has confirmed to be working on a cryptocurrency for the MapleStory Universe. However, it’s very possible that this token won’t serve an in-game purpose, but only allows for governance and content creator reward distribution.
When will MapleStory Universe release?
Nexon has not communicated a release date, but spoke about their game at GDC in March 2023. They will reveal more details about MSU during the year, and therefore it’s safe to expect at least an alpha version somewhere in 2024. However, this has not been confirmed by Nexon.
