Maplestory

MapleStory has clocked a decade under its belt now and is celebrating! Currently, in-game festivities—such as a Cash Inventory Transfer Event, a festival, double experience, and the one-day only 10th anniversary gift on May 11th—can be enjoyed for a limited time in this epic 2D MMORPG.

"Unlock the Fun"

Cliff Bleszinski: 20-year Epic Games veteran; directed the Unreal and Gears of War franchises.
Arjan Brussee: "Godfather of Dutch Game Development", directed the Killzone franchise.
Boss Key: Their new joint venture that brought CliffyB out of game dev retirement. (@bosskey)

So what is their mysterious first project? "Project Bluestreak". (title pending)

MapleStory has been going strong for an impressive eight years with its mix of bright 2D graphics and RPG elements. As part of its look at just what the outlook is for the summer--and not just the weather--Nexon America commissioned a survey which indicated that those who participated between the age of 18-29 plan on jumping into the online sphere even as the months heat up.

Most encouraging is the increasing proportion of women who are participating, as they comprised a reported 40% of respondents.

More young women gamers can only lead to more women developers of the future to start knocking aside the overdose of testosterone in the industry.

Find out more about MapleStory at the official site.

According to a news post on Kotaku.com, Nexon's South Korean MapleStory Servers have been hacked, compromising more than 13 million subscriber accounts and their personal information. No other servers in other regions have been compromised, although this still constitutes an enormous database breach (Kotaku is reporting via Yonhap News that the number exceeds 13 million subscribers). The information was obviously encrypted and this dosn't really affect anyone in North America, but it serves as a good reminder to update those passwords.

Also, is it just me or does it seem like these compromises are getting more frequent? Better upgrade on internet security!

Following the discovery that 75% of MapleStory's in-game marriages end in annulment, Nexon decided to upgrade the wedding system in the newly launched Ascension update. Couples will actually earn rewards for staying married for 30 days, and then again at 100 days. Of course, you'll still have the option to end the union if things aren't working out.

In addition, the Ascension update features class revamps for warriors, magicians and bowmen, as well as new Monster Park dungeons. You can see it all in action by watching the Ascension trailer below.