22-year-old MMO MapleStory is getting the 'old school' treatment with the original lead game designer in charge of new classic servers

There's something about taking long-running MMOs back to their roots that fans really seem to like. Old School Runescape, a version of the venerable Jagex MMO that recreates the game as it was in 2007, is enduringly popular, and when Blizzard announced World of Warcraft Classic in 2018, that was a big deal. Now MapleStory is set to join the ranks with the upcoming Classic World, "a nostalgic experience crafted just for Global MapleStory players."

MapleStory hasn't got a lot of attention around these parts, but it's a remarkably successful game that's been running for more than 20 years. We recently cited it alongside EverQuest and Ultima Online as one of the few live service games "that have passed the test of time"—putting it mildly, I think—and it continues to be regularly updated on Steam, where it draws several thousand concurrent players at any given moment.

Those years gone by are definitely visible in MapleStory's gameplay, but despite its aged look MapleStory has inevitably changed and evolved over the past two decades, and what it is now is not what it was then. Which is where Classic World comes in: Nexon America chief product officer Hanbyeol Oh, known to fans as Inkwell, says it will be "a faithful recreation of the old school MapleStory experience, built by a team that understands what made early MapleStory so special."

That team includes Miyoung "Nemi" Oh, lead game designer on MapleStory at original developer Wizet in the years leading up to and immediately after its launch, who's taking on the same role for MapleStory Classic Worlds.

"We've been planning this for a long time and we want to create a meaningful connection between the past and present," Miyoung Oh says. "Classic World will be a special milestone for the 20th anniversary. Just like the Heroic and Interactive Worlds in Global MapleStory, Classic World will be a full part of GMS. Players will be able to create brand new characters and experience a faithful recreation of early MapleStory while also enjoying quality of life additions from GMS to even further enhance the player experience.

"We hope to recreate all the features and qualities that made early MapleStory special, while also looking toward the future and collaborating with fellow maplers to create the best classic world together."

I'm inclined to think that a lot of the desire for throwback MMOs is driven by nostalgia: Not necessarily a yearning for the way the game was 20 years ago, but for the way we were, and the emotions and experiences we enjoyed when all this stuff was exciting and new. Alas, we can't go back, but it turns out that in at least some instances, taking the games back to those long-gone days is not a terrible compromise—there's some refreshing challenge to be found in the sharp points and rough edges of the early oughts.

A release date for MapleStory Classic World hasn't been announced at this point, but more details will be revealed in the second half of 2025.