Iconic MMORPG MapleStory moves to Web3 with Avalanche

South Korean game publisher Nexon Group announced its partnership with Ava Labs on Monday to launch its 2D mass multiplayer online role-playing game MapleStory on the Avalanche network.

The collaboration aims to offer its players a Web3-enabled experience under the name, MapleStory Universe, the company said in a statement.

“MapleStory Universe has migrated to Avalanche for the network’s security and how successfully Avalanche has onboarded and supported various Web3 games over the years,” Nexon said in the statement. 

Nexon said in the release that MapleStory Universe will be supported by its own Avalanche Subnet, which can be seen as a network inside of a network that is designed for its gaming ecosystem.

The first game from the Web3-updated line, named MapleStory N, intends to allow players to build their own in-game worlds and receive Web3 rewards for doing so. While the release did not specify the kind of Web3 incentives users will receive, its website states that non-fungible tokens are at the core of its value ecosystem.

The PC version of MapleStory N on Avalanche is expected to launch by the end of this year, the company said.

MapleStory, which launched in 2003, was one of the first online games to popularize the free-to-play model. It has since expanded its service to launch servers in the U.S., Europe, and other Asian countries, such as Japan and China. It claims to have had over 180 million users worldwide in its 20-year history.