MapleStory Chain Game Team is coming to Taiwan! When will it be launched? How to make money? We'll help you ask everything you want to know

MapleStory Chain Game Team Comes to Taiwan: Blockchain for Another 20 Years of Battle!

Can you still remember the familiar Maple Valley terms of 'Awkward Broadening', 'Don't Rush, Please Change', and 'Reputation for 1:10 Million'?

In Taiwan, Maple Story is a childhood memory for many players. It once ignited a craze of 'Maple Valley' throughout Taiwan, and even now it still frequently appears on the PC discussion ranking list of Bahamut, with an astonishingly loyal player base.

This classic MMORPG game with a history of 21 years and over 200 million players is taking an unprecedented step to launch the MapleStory Universe blockchain project and MapleStory N. Behind it is not just blindly following trends, but a grand ideal - to let Maple Valley fight for another 20 or 30 years.

The MapleStory N team held a press conference in Taiwan yesterday (12/11) and was interviewed by "Cryptocurrency City." Through the explanation of Dominic Jang, the person in charge of business development, let's take a peek at the combination of blockchain and the super classic MMORPG, and see what sparks will fly.

MapleStory M breaks the limits of infinity, transforming the traditional MMORPG!

The MapleStory universe project is led by Nexpace, a subsidiary of NEXON, and the two biggest differences between MapleStory N and MapleStory M are:

Economic system overhaul: all items in the game have changed from "infinite issuance" to "limited release", and will be distributed according to a certain cycle. Players can enjoy a more meaningful item acquisition experience, which helps preserve the value of items and prevent inflation.

No Cash Shop: MapleStory N has completely removed the cash shop (shopping mall) and in-game item and equipment merchants, and has switched to a player-driven economy. Game items and characters can be 'minted' into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or fungible tokens (FTs), and can be freely traded on the official marketplace across servers, granting ownership of the items.

Dominic Jang said that the core vision of MapleStory Universe is to build a diversified gaming ecosystem platform. In this ecosystem, "MapleStory N" will be the main game, and various collaborative applications (APP) will be developed around it, with the main goal of breaking the traditional game mode and allowing more players of different types to participate.

Detailed Introduction to the Economics System of MapleStory N: The chain version of "MapleStory N" has arrived! 10 pictures detail the game design, how to bring real-world economy into MMORPG?

When will 'MapleStory N' be released? How to make money? Important Q&A all at once

During press conferences and interviews, participants raised many issues of great concern to players. Here are a few important Q&As compiled by 'Crypto City'.

"MapleStory N" launch time: expected to be listed in the first half of 2025

Will MapleStory N have Chinese: The test version currently supports 8 to 9 languages, and will continue to optimize Chinese translation in the future, including in-game content and the official website.

MapleStory N's launch content: In addition to the game itself, there are multiple collaborative apps, including a prop creation interaction system, $NXPC tokens, Navigator system, as well as the marketplace and explorer and dressroom that are currently in the testing phase.

Is MapleStory N free to play: completely free, the official promises to bear all the costs (Gas) of players casting items on the chain.

How to make money in MapleStory N: there are two main tokens, $NESO and $NXPC. $NESO can currently be obtained by killing monsters in the game, while $NXPC has not yet been issued and currently requires specific conditions to be met in order to obtain it. There are plans to introduce the function of exchanging $NESO for $NXPC in the future.

Regarding the token economy of $NESO and $NXPC, although not much was revealed in this interview, the official promise is that the detailed white paper will be released before the end of this month, and then players will be able to have a better understanding of how it works.

What is the MapleStory Universe's collaborative APP? You can check out the presentation we previously prepared: Introduction to the MapleStory Chain Game Ecosystem: These 5 key apps to have, check out the essential features all at once

Using Avalanche, even novices can easily get started with blockchain games

MapleStory initially adopted the Polygon blockchain for development, but later switched to Avalanche. Dominic Jang said that the main reason for choosing Avalanche is its Subnet (now called L1) technology, which provides more freedom in building games and has multiple successful cases already.

Avalanche subnets can be customized according to the team's requirements, and the subnet nodes will be verified by Avalanche's C-Chain in the end.

The performance of the Avalanche subnetwork is very helpful for development. Dominic Jang admits that the team has been struggling with how to break the negative perception and high barriers of entry for blockchain games. In the end, they decided to bear all the on-chain costs and provide a gaming experience similar to Web2 to help players get through the beginner period.

To bear the cost of chain fees and eliminate cash stores, it makes people very curious how 'MapleStory N' can make a profit?

Dominic Jang said that currently, when players trade and strengthen items in the market, the official will charge a small handling fee (NESO), which will become one of the team's sources of income.

But rather than profits, Dominic Jang is now more concerned with whether the game can be successfully launched and whether the ecosystem can operate smoothly. Previously, it received a $100 million investment from its parent company NEXON, which helps Nexpace better survive the startup phase.

Over 80% of players participated in the MapleStory N Pioneer Test in Taiwan.

Dominic Jang said that the first pioneer test of 'MapleStory N' was very successful, with a retention rate of over 80%. Among them, 50% are considered A+ level players. The trading volume and consumption rate of $NESO token during the test period were also very high, and it received a rating of 4.6 out of 5.

He also specifically mentioned that Taiwanese players actively participated in the vanguard test phase, which shows how strong the attraction of the "MapleStory" IP is in Taiwan.

Image source: The MapleStory N chain game team from Cryptopolis came to Taiwan for an interview

Build a sustainable model! "MapleStory N" aims to break the short lifespan challenge of chain games

Dominic Jang said that the project to prepare for the Maple Valley universe has been going on for three years, and has also been closely following the development of many new chain games, but found that most of them are very 'short-lived', so he is more focused on building a sustainable model, hoping that 'MapleStory N' can break this challenge.

In addition, MapleStory N also maintains an open attitude towards cross-project and cross-border cooperation. The team has collaborated with well-known NFT project Pudgy Penguin in the community, while Dominic Jang tends to cooperate with traditional IPs, similar to the collaboration between MapleStory and Demon Slayer, attracting more non-Maple Valley fans to play.

Let Maple Valley fight again for 20 years! Can "MapleStory N" become a model of blockchain games?

It's not easy for an IP that has been in operation for over 20 years to enter the next 20 years, especially when it comes to integrating blockchain technology, which is still viewed with skepticism by the outside world. However, Dominic Jang believes this is the right direction for the MapleStory IP.

With a more constructive and long-term plan, MapleStory N brings new possibilities to the chain game industry. Whether this innovative work that combines traditional games and blockchain technology can create a paradigm for chain games, let us wait and see!

Image source: Crypto City filming "MapleStory N" chain game team comes to Taiwan for interview

The MapleStory Chain Tour Team is coming to Taiwan! When will it be launched? How to make money? I will help you ask everything you want to know. This article was first published in 'Crypto City'.