MapleStory is an online adventure game that centers around the “Maple World,” allowing players to combat monsters and develop their characters’ skills and abilities in an immense platform-inspired persistent world. Players, using charming characters, interact through chatting, trading, and playing mini-games while surrounded by vibrant backgrounds. Groups of players can unite in parties or guilds to socialize, hunt monsters, or embark on quests.

MapleStory’s innovative cash shop offers players the option to use real currency to pay for game enhancements, from cosmetic items such as haircuts and clothing, to virtual pets that can be trained to sit, stand, and breathe fire. This feature is purely optional and players can try out items prior to purchase in a virtual dressing room. Players create truly unique identities in MapleStory through avatar customizations.

Starting off with a significant update of its present game system, players can now make use of even more convenient and handy interface features, including jump-downward function, various functional upgrades and hotkey add-ons.

Today’s patch further delivers the following updates and events:

• New Maps: Aqua Dungeon & Mini Dungeons: Aqua Road gets extended by the anticipated “Aqua Dungeon" where boss monster “Pianus" makes its first appearance to the European players. Furthermore, new mini dungeons open their portals to offer players a private hunting session of their own.
• Monster Showdown & Summer Drop Event: The 4-week Monster Showdown Event pits players against a lineup of familiar as well as rare boss monsters. Defeating them one by one will be rewarded with extra EXP and bonus points. Another 4-week Summer-Drop Event joins the traditional summer bash where monsters drop summer-exclusive items during usual quests.
• New Community Features: Guild Union and Family System: Players can now team up with up to 5 guilds to fortify their solidarity and team spirit within their Guild Union. The new Family System will assign players as “mentors?to sponsor his/her “juniors" through the game. Fostering a great family will reward the family leader in various ways and help new players with their familiarization within the game.
• Multipet System: This new system allows players to have up to 3 pets at once and to benefit from the combination of unique skills and effects of each pet.

“Today’s patch will bring MapleStory Europe to another dimension," says Sung Jin Kim, Manager at NEXON Europe. “We had promised a great summer with extensive, exciting new contents, and this is merely the beginning of our delivery. We hope that our players can enjoy the new maps and exclusive events even better with the upgraded game system and community features. We are already excited about our next big release, the “Knights of Cygnus" this very summer. “Knights of Cygnus" is a completely new concept as our players have never experienced before, and will definitely open the second chapter of MapleStory Europe."

Launched on May 11, 2005, MapleStory became a legend in online games with its amazing social features, rich art style and open world opportunities. Players have flocked to MapleStory with over 92 million worldwide users and over six million users in North America.

Maplers have traveled through the many lands of the game’s vast world, as well as unleashed the game’s traits of individuality and freedom beyond its game borders. Players have turned MapleStory into an online video mainstay through blogs, community fan sites and fan videos. Over 200,000 videos are available by searching MapleStory at YouTube.