Nexon said on July 13 it has collaborated with game development clubs at major South Korean universities to introduce six new worlds for its free block-coding platform Hello Maple and to launch related events.

The release is part of a project aimed at diversifying content on the platform and fostering next-generation creators. This year, 6 teams from 3 university clubs, including Seoul National University's SNUGDC, Korea University's CAT&DOG and Yonsei University's PoolC, participated to develop hyper-casual games based on MapleStory Worlds Pro Mode.

The newly added worlds adopt intuitive controls and easy gameplay. In particular, Korea University's "Please Save the Stone Spirit!" and Yonsei University's "Spelling Forest of Patience" feature reinterpretations of MapleStory intellectual property elements adapted to the hyper-casual genre. Participating students led the entire process from idea proposals to content planning, production and final release, building practical skills as creators.

Shin Min-seok (신민석), Nexon's executive director, said, "It was an opportunity for university students to grow into next-generation creators by directly experiencing everything from content planning to launch based on fresh ideas." He said, "We will continue to spare no effort in providing support in various ways to help passionate creators pursue their dreams by building a creative ecosystem."

To mark the launch of the new worlds, Nexon will run a user participation vote event through Aug. 2. Users can play the 6 new hyper-casual worlds and vote by selecting 2 favorite worlds, and winners will be chosen by drawing to receive prizes including MapleStory character merchandise and ice cream vouchers.

The company plans to analyze voting results along with accumulated play data to identify the types of content users prefer and actively reflect this in setting Hello Maple's long-term development direction. It also plans to continue operating its collaboration framework with university student creators to sustain efforts to energize the creative ecosystem.