MapleStory N Launches Today, Bringing Its Charming 2D World to the Web3 Ecosystem

For nearly two decades, MapleStory has captivated millions with its charming 2D side-scrolling world and enduring community.

Nearly two decades ago, MapleStory began captivating millions with its charming 2D side-scrolling world and enduring community. Since debuting in 2003, the game has become a cornerstone of the MMORPG genre—a legacy few titles achieve.

Now, MapleStory is spawning a Web3 ecosystem of its own, with its highly anticipated flagship title, MapleStory N, launching today. To understand the vision behind this ambitious project, CCN spoke with Sun Young Hwang, CEO of NEXPACE and head of the MapleStory Universe, who shares insights on how the team is reimagining the future of gaming in a decentralized world.

A Long-Term Vision

One of the gaming industry’s longest-running MMORPGs is making its return—this time with a Web3-powered twist. And according to Nexpace’s leadership, this evolution has been years in the making.

“We’ve been successfully operating MapleStory for over 20 years, with consistent year-over-year growth and a vibrant community at its core. But throughout that journey, we’ve always asked ourselves a critical question: Will the live service strategy that carried us through the past two decades continue to be effective for the next twenty?” says Hwang.

After two decades of success, MapleStory had become a giant in the genre. However, for executive producer Hwang, the game’s infinite item issuance and traditional business model, common across most MMORPGs, were beginning to reveal deep flaws that threatened its future.

“These weren’t surface-level issues that could be fixed through major content updates. They were deeply rooted in the game’s foundational design. That’s why we made the bold decision to rethink everything from the ground up, and through that process, we found genuine potential in Web3 as a framework for structural innovation,” Hwang notes.

Despite its age, MapleStory continues to draw in hundreds of thousands of daily players. Hwang’s vision now is to build a future where those players aren’t just consuming content—they’re actively contributing to and growing the broader MapleStory Universe.

“We began exploring how blockchain technology could be integrated into MapleStory three years ago by establishing a dedicated research and development team. That marked the formal kickoff of the MapleStory Universe project. Around that time, discussions around MapleStory N also began to take shape,” he explains.

That early R&D effort expanded into something much larger: a metaverse-style ecosystem enabled by Avalanche, NFTs, and crypto, all designed to give players more control and involvement.

“Over 100 developers have been actively involved in bringing this vision to life,” Hwang adds.

MapleStory N builds directly on the foundation of the original MapleStory, making it instantly familiar to longtime fans.

However, with the addition of Web3 mechanics, the game introduces a new layer of gameplay depth for both veteran players and newcomers.

This time around, players can mint their characters, gear, and rare items as NFTs—fully tradable within the game’s ecosystem.

“While building MapleStory N, we were dedicated to prioritizing our players and their gameplay experience. The Genesis Phase playtests, which saw 31.5 million on-chain activities and transactions and over 76% of circulating in-game tokens actively spent, hit new ceilings in user base and user activity metrics,” Hwang expressed.

Unlike the original, all in-game assets in MapleStory N are limited-supply NFTs. That shift means there’s no longer a predictable path to acquiring the best items. Players must now adapt, strategize, and respond to the behaviors of others in real time.

“This adds a new layer of difficulty—but more importantly, it amplifies the sense of reward when players successfully earn valuable items. That heightened reward experience is a defining element of MapleStory N’s unique appeal,” Hwang added.

The NFTs themselves serve different functions: some are purely cosmetic, letting players show off their in-game achievements, while others provide gameplay advantages, such as stat boosts or access to unique abilities.

The MSU

The MSU extends beyond just play-to-earn mechanics. MapleStory Worlds, for example, is a user-generated content sandbox where players can build their own monetizable custom worlds and quests using MapleStory’s visual and gameplay assets. In parallel, developers are encouraged to explore the MapleStory N software development kit (SDK) to create third-party applications that integrate directly into the broader ecosystem.

“While the blockchain industry has gone through volatile cycles and sector-specific booms and busts, we’ve remained steady in our direction. From the beginning, we approached this project with a clear sense of purpose: to reimagine how game IPs can achieve sustainable, long-term growth,” says Hwang.

That clarity enabled Hwang’s team to treat blockchain not as a passing trend but as a core architectural element. The