'MapleStory N' Avalanche Crypto Game Launching This Month

Nexpace, a blockchain company backed by South Korean gaming giant Nexon, announced Thursday that its Web3 expansion of the popular MapleStory franchise will launch on May 15.

The new game, MapleStory N, will blend the franchise's traditional 2D side-scrolling gameplay with crypto assets on the Avalanche blockchain, allowing players to own and trade in-game assets on-chain. The studio has launched its own dedicated Avalanche L1 chain called Henesys, which went live in April.

"The launch of MapleStory N marks the culmination of years of development, rigorous user testing, and unwavering community support," said Nexpace CEO Sunyoung Hwang, in a statement. "This isn't just the release of a new game; it's the beginning of a new chapter in gaming history."

The release date announcement follows extensive playtesting that generated over 31.5 million on-chain transactions, the firm said, with nearly one million digital wallets registered during the test period.

MapleStory N will feature what Nexpace calls "Reward Experience 2.0," allowing players to issue, trade and manage in-game items on a blockchain. The game will also include mechanisms for players to contribute content and be rewarded with ecosystem tokens.

The MapleStory franchise, which first launched 22 years ago, has amassed over 250 million users worldwide. MapleStory N will be available on PC.

This new iteration represents the first official game release within the MapleStory Universe ecosystem. MapleStory Universe was originally being built on Ethereum scaling network Polygon, but moved to Avalanche in 2024.