The Web 3 gaming space has struggled post the 2021 peak of Axie Infinity. While the core thesis around digital ownership, asset interoperability, and transparent economics remains compelling, most Web 3 games have failed to gain meaningful traction. Their unsustainable play-to-earn models relied on speculative economics rather than genuine fun, leading to inevitable collapses when new player growth stalled. However, recent months have seen a promising shift in this trend with the launch of quality projects such as Off The Grid by Gunzilla Games and MapleStory Universe by Nexpace. These games aim to reverse the typical Web 3 gaming approach by emphasizing engaging gameplay first, while the Web 3 infrastructure operates seamlessly in the background.

In May, we saw the mainnet launch of a popular title, MapleStory Universe along with its native token $NXPC. Within a day of launch, the token surged over 200% to hit a valuation of $3.6 billion before correcting and trading range bound around the $1.5-2 billion mark. The original Web 2 MapleStory title, a MMORPG, was first published in 2004 by the South Korean gaming studio Nexon. MapleStory was a hit worldwide with over $5 billion in lifetime revenue and 250 million registered users.

Nexon spent the last 2 decades fine tuning MapleStory through new content and gameplay but faced challenges due to the consistent release of new in-game items that caused inflation in the game economy. This led Nexspace, the blockchain arm of Nexon, to launch MapleStory Universe. The aim of Nexspace was to enhance the original game’s IP while using blockchain technology to overcome the challenges faced by the Web 2 title. Nexon’s investment of $100 million of internal capital in MapleStory Universe showcased their commitment towards making the Web 3 title a hit as well. MapleStory N is the flagship title within the ecosystem. The gameplay, lore, map locations and player classes replicate the original MapleStory game providing gamers with a sense of nostalgia. The game is built on Avalanche’s Henesys L1, featuring a gasless user experience for gamers. The game operates on a dual token framework. $NXPC is the main utility token and can be converted to the in-game token $NESO at a fixed 1:100,000 rate.

Screenshot from MapleStory Universe

Source: Maplestory Universe

Ahead of launching on mainnet, numerous playtests were carried out with the open beta running from November 2024 to March 2025. Players who participated in the playtest were allowed to reserve their desired in-game items and transfer their characters and items upon the official launch of the game on mainnet. MapleStory Universe's second playtest generated impressive engagement, with daily transactions exceeding 150,000 (peaking at 850,000) and around 50,000 daily active wallets. While these user numbers fall short of leading Web 3 games, the quality of engagement tells a different story. Players averaged 4.5 hours of daily playtime—more than double Axie Infinity's 2-hour peak and over four times the global gaming average of 1 hour per session. Further MapleStory N's impressive retention rates continue to validate the thesis that an established IP drives genuine engagement.

MapleStory Universe's second playtest generated impressive engagement…

Source: Nexpace

…and solid retention stats

Source: Nexpace

MapleStory N employs an ETF-like arbitrage mechanism centered on $NXPC that creates a balanced supply-demand dynamic between tokens and NFTs. Through "Fission," engaged players can burn $NXPC to mint new item NFTs when gameplay demand is high. Conversely, "Fusion" allows players to burn NFTs to reclaim $NXPC when token values appreciate relative to NFT prices, creating upward pressure on NFT valuations. This directly links the game's popularity to its primary utility token's value and creates sustainable tokenomics tied to actual gameplay rather than speculative trading.

Post-launch metrics show a notable decline from playtest performance, with daily Unique Active Wallets (UAWs) averaging 37,500 and daily transactions dropping to around 400,000. The drop in player engagement reflects a pressing problem: the game has become too difficult and unrewarding to progress meaningfully. Players can only earn about $1 per hour even in the best farming areas, which isn't nearly enough to afford equipment upgrades. The situation has become so skewed that buying a high-level character for $280 is actually more cost-effective than spending weeks grinding to level up naturally. There have also been reports of hackers ruining the gaming experience by stealing $NESO drops.

The drop in player engagement reflects a pressing problem: the game has become too difficult and unrewarding to progress meaningfully. Players can only earn about $1 per hour even in the best farming areas, which isn't nearly enough to afford equipment upgrades. The situation has become so skewed that buying a high level character for $280 is actually more cost-effective than spending weeks grinding to level up naturally. There have also been reports of hackers ruining the gaming experience by stealing $NESO drops.

The development team has been prompt to acknowledge these problems and is actively rolling out fixes. This may explain the recent uptrend in player metrics. More importantly, MapleStory Universe maintains a substantial war chest to bootstrap engagement with 80% of total token supply allocated for community rewards. The launch of Fusion and Fission mechanisms—core components of the token flywheel—is expected within weeks. If player engagement continues recovering, these catalysts could significantly impact token performance, keeping $NXPC high on our watchlist.