MapleStory Classic World opens to everyone October 21 at 15:00 ART on Steam and the Nexon Launcher

MapleStory Classic World, Nexon’s take on the 2D MMORPG as it was when it first came out, opens to everyone on Wednesday, October 21. Nexon’s Classic World FAQ says Grand Launch “will begin on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT,” available on the Nexon Launcher and Steam.

What time, and where

11:00 AM PDT is 18:00 UTC, or 15:00 ART. Nexon lists a single global moment (2:00 PM EDT, 8:00 PM CEST and 4:00 AM AEST on October 22), not staggered regional unlocks. A separate Nexon notice, posted October 16, schedules a change for “October 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC (after Grand Launch),” which matches that hour.

Nexon’s Grand Launch maintenance notice on Steam takes all Classic World servers down from 6:00 AM to about 11:00 AM PDT on October 21, which is 10:00 to about 15:00 ART, to update the game to version 1.0.0. Founder’s Access players are offline during that window, and Nexon’s estimate puts the end of maintenance at the launch hour.

Classic World runs on Windows and macOS. Nexon’s FAQ says Mac players can use the Nexon Launcher or Steam. Nexon has not announced a console or mobile version in the sources we read.

Free, with a Cash Shop

Classic World is free to play. On Steam, Nexon’s FAQ explains, “MapleStory and MapleStory Classic World are bundled together,” so players install the MapleStory listing, which Steam lists as free, and get Classic World through it. Nexon recommends linking your Nexon account to Steam before launch, and recommends doing it on the web, in Account Settings. On the Nexon Launcher, you select the MapleStory Classic World toggle in your library and download a standalone client.

Classic World has a Cash Shop, and Nexon’s FAQ describes Leaf Points as “an alternative source of Cash currency” there. The paid Founder’s Packages, which gave early access from October 6, went off sale on October 14. The FAQ on Nexon’s Zakum Package Steam page says all progress made during Founder’s Access carries over into the Grand Launch.

A MapleStory Classic World screenshot from its Steam page. Credit: NEXON.

Classic World is not the current MapleStory

Nexon’s Steam copy says Classic World “revisits MapleStory as it was when it first launched, but with gameplay improvements, balance adjustments, and quality of life changes to polish the experience for modern players.”

It is also not meant to be an exact copy. Hanbyeol Oh, Nexon America’s chief product officer and head of Global MapleStory, known to players as Inkwell, said in a Nexon interview: “Our goal is not to recreate MapleStory from 20 years ago on a one-to-one basis.” He said content such as 3rd Job and certain regions “may be introduced sequentially,” and that some content will be adapted and some made new. He also said Nexon built “a separate development group for Classic World” rather than taking people from the existing Global MapleStory team.

What carries over from MapleStory

Per Nexon’s FAQ, Classic World uses the same Nexon account as the live game, but “NX Balance will be the only shared item.” Character names, Maple Points and MVP benefits do not carry over. You can run only one of the two games at a time, and bans apply to both, since they “operate as one game service under a single account.”

English is the official language, and Nexon says Spanish is in beta. The FAQ lists DualSense, DualShock and Xbox controllers as officially supported.