Alas, poor Maplestory 2, you were cute and likable and then you got kicked to the curb after less than two years. We did a lot to memorialize this game before it left us in both its gameplay and its memorable soundtrack, but the game’s global version shut down altogether and left it only in people’s memories and the game’s Chinese version. Unfortunately, even the latter isn’t much longer for the world, as it has been announced that the game’s Chinese version will shut down at the start of November. (The announcement is obviously not in English, so fairly warned be ye.)
Officially, the shutdown announcement implies that this is due to license agreements lapsing between Tencent and Nexon. This isn’t a complete worldwide death for the game, as the original Korean servers remain online and available for players, but even then the game doesn’t get regular updates any longer all the same. It’s a sad ending for the game’s worldwide audience, and it probably says nothing heartening about the sequel’s overall appeal in the market and the future of the franchise. Our condolences to Chinese fans who were hoping for more.
