It’s over. MapleStory 2 has closed its doors on Steam. Yet, the MMORPG was so successful in 2018…
When did it end? The servers were already shut down at 7 AM on May 28th. The Steam page for MapleStory 2 is no longer accessible.
The end of a Steam hit
Why was MapleStory 2 shut down? There are several reasons for the demise of the MMORPG. Although it attracted many players at the beginning, it simply couldn’t retain them over time. The game’s problems included:
- There was too much grind. The gameplay was too repetitive due to a random element and good items and resources were too hard to obtain. Players found the grind a boring game element.
- MapleStory 2 also struggled with gold sellers and cheaters, which ruined the fun for some players. The developers couldn’t get a handle on the problem.
- Players could create their own costumes, which some exploited to spread Hitler costumes. MapleStory was aimed more at a younger audience. There was a lot of criticism for these costumes.
This led to player numbers on Steamcharts dropping sharply after the release in October 2018. Even larger expansions and updates could not stop the downward trend.
How did MapleStory 2 start? At release, the MMORPG took off. At peak, there were 42,278 simultaneous players online, which made MapleStory 2 a hit on Steam at the end of 2018. However, the success was short-lived. By November 2018, the MMORPG lost massive players, and this trend continued in the following months.
How did Nexon explain the shutdown? The company provided the following reasoning:
We are forever grateful for your patience and commitment regarding MapleStory 2 as we tried to revamp the game starting with Project New Leaf. Ultimately, however, we decided that we wouldn’t be able to provide the kind of service that meets your expectations.
We have carefully examined the current state of the game and its future roadmap, and unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that it will be difficult to continue the game long-term while remaining true to what made MapleStory 2 your MapleStory 2.
Developers of MapleStory 2
How do you feel about the end of the MMORPG MapleStory 2? Would you have hoped to play longer?
There are also other MMORPGs that are on shaky ground. MeinMMO author Alexander Leitsch explained in an article which online role-playing games he believes will not survive 2020.
