Nexon, the world's largest game publisher: MapleStory Chain, which raised $100 million

2024/07/01 14:55

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MapleStory Chain, a $100 million financing

Leading game publisher Nexon is bringing its famous MapleStory series into the Web3 era. The original MapleStory launched in the early 2000s and attracted a global audience with its unique art style and engaging gameplay. Now, Nexon aims to integrate blockchain technology to completely transform this beloved MMORPG.

The series of games has almost endless content to enjoy, and currently has 180 million registered users and $4 billion in total revenue.

The parent company is the Korean game giant Nexon, which has developed "Dragon Nest", "Kart Rider", etc.

Raise USD 100 million in December 2023

Nexon announced the expansion of the virtual world and changed the gameplay

Last March, Nexon announced the development of a virtual world ecosystem centered on MapleStory NFT. The move caused a sensation in the gaming and Web3 communities. The project, MapleStory Universe, will combine various elements, including MapleStory N (a blockchain-enhanced version of the original game) and MapleStory N Mobile (extending the experience to smartphones).

MapleStory N Worlds and MapleStory N SDK are key components of this ecosystem. N Worlds provides players with a sandbox platform to create blockchain games, while N SDK provides developers with tools to build new applications. This ecosystem encourages creators to contribute to the growing landscape of MapleStory Universe.

Sunyoung Hwang, who leads the MapleStory Universe project, explained that the ecosystem allows users to own and trade NFTs. These digital assets can be transferred between players, enhancing the gaming experience and ensuring the uniqueness of items.

The introduction of NFTs will preserve the uniqueness of in-game items and eliminate the traditional cash shop model. Players can trade items within the MapleStory Universe marketplace, maintaining the value and utility of their digital assets across different platforms.

Why did you decide to enter Web3?

MapleStory Universe is not trying to reinvent MapleStory with Web3. Instead, the focus is on how to make MapleStory even more fun to play. MapleStory is a 20-year-old game that focuses on enhancing the core fun experience, which we call the "rewarding experience." Discovering that blockchain and NFTs can maximize the MapleStory reward experience.

Not only to develop the currently available MapleStory game, but also to develop a completely independent game. Just like many other games utilize specialized engines to enhance their core gameplay, MapleStory is being developed using blockchain to enhance our core gameplay.

About Nexon

Nexon Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社ネクソン, English: NEXON Co., Ltd., commonly translated as: Nexon) is a computer game operation company controlled by South Korea's NXC. The group's game development is mainly undertaken by the former group's head office, Nexon Korea.

Nexon (now Nexon Korea) was established on December 26, 1994 in South Korea ([1]) and its headquarters was once located in Seoul; in 2002, a subsidiary, Nexon Japan, was established in Japan.

In 2006, it was transformed into a holding company, NXC Corporation, and the Korean game business was spun off as Nexon.

In December 2011, the company moved its headquarters to Tokyo as a holding company ([2]). The original Lexian Japan was upgraded to Lexian, becoming the head office of the Lexian Group. The original headquarters became Lexian Korea, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese head office. After the change, game development is still undertaken by Lexian Korea. The original holding company of Lexian Korea, NXC in Jeju Island, South Korea, was changed to Lexian in Japan.

It is also good at developing casual online games. Its main works include Bubble Hall, KartRider, Bubble Fighter, Sky Wing Chain, God's Domain, MapleStory, Machi, etc. In Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, most NEXON games are operated by Game Orange; while in mainland China, they are operated by Shanda Network and Century Tiancheng respectively.