Nexon-Backed Nexpace to Launch Blockchain Game on May 15

The web3 game is set to launch on PC as an MMORPG, the first game within what has been named the MapleStory Universe. There have reportedly been 31.5million on-chain transactions through player testing, with close to 1 million digital wallets registered throughout the testing period.

The in-game assets will be available through the Avalanche blockchain, a leading web3 layer-1 platform with a strong focus on gaming. The game is built on its own Avalanche layer-1 chain named Henesys which recently went live in April.

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What Can You Do in the Game?

Classic 2D side-scrolling gameplay combines with web3 dynamics to reportedly create a fun experience. Players have the option to participate in a player-to-player in-game trading economy. Digital ownership is possible with in-game items being owned as NFTs. Players can also battle bosses with teammates and collect rare items.

The launch of MapleStory N marks the culmination of years of development, rigorous user testing, and unwavering community support… This isn’t just the release of a new game; it’s the beginning of a new chapter in gaming history.

Sunyoung Hwang, CEO of Nexpace.

The game mechanics for MapleStory N also enable players to contribute tokens and to subsequently be rewarded with tokens from the ecosystem. Furthermore, the Reward Experience 2.0 program is what will allow players to manage in-game items which are available for trading.

The State of Web3 Gaming

Web3 gaming generated much excitement in 2021 but has lacked attention and arguably performed poorly in recent years when compared with sectors such as memecoins and AI.

Speculation exists that besides having solid macro-economic conditions, a real ‘hit-game’ is what’s needed to reignite interest in web3 gaming. An example of this might be how successful Axie-Infinity was in 2021.

There is also a viewpoint that the next quality hit-game in web3 needs to be of a top-tier web2 standard with quality graphics and immersive gameplay. Some criticism exists that web3 gaming focuses too heavily on games which sport low quality graphics but claim to be fun, yet don’t provide the same experience.

However, Off-the-grid recently drew attention as a relatively successful web3 game that might better suit such a viewpoint. Others argue that the game being fun is the real important factor, regardless of graphics and top-performing web2 game comparisons.

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