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We’re seeing another situation which involves a game or versions of it not even lasting a year. Nexon announced it will end for both the PS4 and Xbox One versions of The First Descendant on June 19, 2025. The game launched on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on July 2, 2024, and will continue for the other consoles and PC. 

The reveal came up during the “Season 2 Episode 2: Beyond the Void Update Preview” on YouTube. After going over updates for about two and a half hours, the team announced it would end for The First Descendant and shared a very brief timeline for the PS4 and Xbox One versions. It noted the first announcement came up today. The official notice will come on March 20, 2025, and that will offer more details about it winding down. Things will officially close on June 19, 2025, which comes alongside an update for all platforms.

In the explanation, Nexon’s staff suggested this closure was something “expected.” It suggested “big changes” were needed to revitalize and get the title to “step up its game,” and abandoning that version ended up being part of it. The showcase referred to the number of people playing on those two platforms as “a handful.” 

In addition, future plans for all platforms leading up to the shutdown came up. Here’s the schedule for things we can expect:

• April 17, 2025: Ultimate Blair, Blair Story, Void Erosion Purge Improvement, External Component Core System, Reactor/External Comp. Readjustment, New External Comp. Addition, Badge System, Void Fragment Removal, and Beginner’s Experience Enhancement will arrive. 
• May 22, 2025: Arche Tuning Socket, Vib Abyss: Ice Maiden, Party Finder System, Core Item Conversion, View Other Descendants’ Stats, Physics, and Photo Mode Filters and Stickers will arrive.

Here’s the full showcase. There is an English translator present for all announcements.

The First Descendant is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, though the PS4 and Xbox One version will end after June 19, 2025.

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Nexon has announced that it will shut down Dynasty Warriors M on February 20, 2025. The end of service for the mobile game will happen simultaneously worldwide, including in Japan.

Dynasty Warriors M is Nexon's second attempt at a mobile game based on Koei Tecmo's hack-and-slash action game series. While the first title Dynasty Warriors Unleashed was based on Dynasty Warriors 8, the company used Dynasty Warriors 9 as the basis for Dynasty Warriors M.

Following the initial reveal in late October 2023, Nexon launched Dynasty Warriors M worldwide a month later on November 22, 2023. With the mobile game slated to sunset in February 2025, it will last for only around a year and three months. That lifespan would be much shorter than Dynasty Warriors Unleashed, which lasted three years globally from 2017 to 2020 and four years in Japan from 2018 to 2022.

Dynasty Warriors M is not the only recent mobile game in the franchise to be shut down. The Chinese-made Dynasty Warriors 7-based title Dynasty Warriors Overlords had also disappeared in July 2024.

Koei Tecmo's self-developed Dynasty Warriors 9-based entry, launched exclusively in Japan in March 2021, will thus become the only known mobile game still alive as of the end of 2024. The Dynasty Warriors series producer Akihiro Suzuki is still managing the mobile game, as Tomohiko Sho takes up the producer spot for the new console entry Dynasty Warriors Origins, which is slated for release on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on January 17, 2025.

Dynasty Warriors M is available worldwide on Android and iOS mobile devices until February 20, 2025.

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During The Game Awards 2024, Nexon premiered a trailer for Dungeon & Fighter: Arad, an open world action-RPG with an anime art style. There are practically no details on the story or platforms so far, which had been teased before.

Here is the trailer for Dungeon & Fighter: Arad that highlighted some of the characters we'll meet and places we'll go when the game does debut.

The trailer shows a cast of colorful characters in what appears to be a fantasy setting. However, the characters were able to summon gliders that look like they’re sci-fi. The trailer doesn’t give a lot of information on who the characters actually are, such as what they’re doing or what jobs they have. After they leave the city, they leave to fight against monsters on the field.

This is the latest entry of the Dungeon & Fighter series, which premiered in 2005. It is one of the most-played and highest-grossing video games of all time. Though Dungeon & Fighter is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up, this new title is an open-world. So it’ll likely play and handle differently than the original title.

Dungeon & Fighter: Arad is in development. More information on its release window and platforms will appear later.

The post Dungeon & Fighter: Arad Will Be Open World Action-RPG appeared first on Siliconera.

Nexon announced collaboration event with the Demon Slayer anime will appear in the 2D side-scrolling MMORPG MapleStory on September 19, 2024. New information about the collaboration will appear ahead of the event on a livestream that will be held on September 16, 2024.

The new collaboration will be reportedly the biggest event for MapleStory. The livestream will offer new details, including a glimpse at the new limited collaboration class “Tanjiro,” named after the Demon Slayer protagonist. Additionally, Japanese online streamer Clutch_Fi will be featured as a guest during the livestream.

Furthermore, audience participation sections and exclusive giveaways will also appear during the broadcast. The livestream will be available from the MapleStory official YouTube channel. However, it will only be available in Japanese. Therea re 9 Demon Slayer characters featured in the MapleStory event, and they include Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, Kanao Tsuyuri, Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Tengen Uzui.

As a reminder, MapleStory celebrated its 20th anniversary on December 2023. Nexon offered details about the anniversary celebration events, which included new merchandise, social media campaigns, and a collaboration with the KonoSuba anime series.

MapleStory is readily available for PCs, and the Demon Slayer anime collaboration will appear on September 19, 2024.

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The World of Warships x Blue Archive collaboration arrived in the PC version of the game, and to celebrate Wargaming released a new trailer showcasing the available characters and items. The characters will be available via containers, a progress track, or through bundles that will cycle weekly up until the event eventually ends on September 4, 2024.

As previously revealed, the crossover event will feature five Blue Archive characters, including Izayoi Nonomi, Okusora Ayane, and Takanashi Hoshino. These three characters will be available as special voiced commanders via containers or bundles, alongside three Blue Archive themed ships. Meanwhile, Sunaookami Shiroko and Kuromi Serika will be available from filling out a progression bar, tokens for which can be earned by purchasing bundles or containers for the event.

You can watch the crossover trailer below, which highlights the Blue Archive characters appearing during the event:

The crossover was first announced earlier in August 2024, alongside the start dates for the event. Meanwhile back in May 2024, World of Warships added another wave of content as part of its collaboration with the Azur Lane series.

The World of Warships x Blue Archive crossover event is now available for the PC version of the game, as well as the Legends version on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and mobile devices. Blue Archive is available for mobile devices.

The post Meet the Blue Archive World of Warships Crossover Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

The first update for The First Descendant is live. It brings new characters, a new boss fight and new equipment, along with fixes and other improvements.

The highlight of the first update is the introduction of two new characters for The First Descendant. The first of these is Luna, a character whose weapon utilises rhythm game mechanics, allowing her to deal damage by shooting in time with the music. Her musical accompaniment also provides bonuses for teammates, increasing their Skill Power and MP Recovery and decreasing cooldowns. A full character trailer for her has also been released.

The other new character addition is Ultimate Valby, a version of the game’s aquatic environmentalist Valby, with boosted stats and a new look. She also gains two unique Modification Modules.

The first update also adds a new Void Intercept Battle to The First Descendant. This sees players going up against Gluttony, a giant mech. Defeating it rewards players with the Hungry Sonic External Components Set and a blueprint for the new Ultimate Weapon, Peace Maker. This new weapon comes with an effect that allows for burst shots while aiming.

The update has also had a huge list of improvements, the full details of which can be viewed on the official site. In addition, director Minseok Joo discussed plans for future updates. These include balance changes to allow for a wider diversity of character builds, plus improvements to drop rates. The team is also working on a method to dispose of unwanted items in response to community criticism.

The First Descendant is available now for PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

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Good Smile Company revealed its latest Blue Archive Chocopuni plush toys of Ako, Chinatsu, Hina, and Iori, as well as its Aru Nendoroid. The Nendoroid will come to Japan in October 2024 and the west in Q1 2025, while the stuffed dolls will show up in Japan in November 2024 and the west in Q2 2025.

The Aru Nendoroid comes with three face plates, as usual, along with a weapon the character uses in Blue Archive. She has a neutral smiling face, one in which she is laughing and blushing, and a third shocked one. She can also wield her sniper rifle. She costs $45.99 in the US storefront and ￥7,400 in the global one.

Here’s a closer look at the figure:

As for the Blue Archive plush dolls of Ako, Chinatsu, Hina, and Iori, they are about six and a half inches tall like all characters in the Chocopuni line. Each one is made of cotton and can be sat on a counter. They are $30.99 each from the US storefront and ￥4,950 in the global one. 

Here’s how those look:

The Blue Archive Aru Nendoroid launches in Japan in October 2024 and North America in Q1 2025. Pre-orders for the figure close on June 12, 2024. The Ako, Chinatsu, Hina, and Iori Chocopuni Blue Archive plush toys launch in Japan in November 2024 and worldwide in Q2 2025. Those pre-orders close on June 5, 2024. The game is available on mobile devices. The anime series is airing in Japan.

The post New Blue Archive Plush of Characters and Aru Nendoroid Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

The A Certain Scientific Railgun event is now live in the global version of Blue Archive. Playing through the event will give players the chance to obtain playable versions of Mikoto Misaka, Ruiko Saten, and Misaki Shokuhou.

There are two commercials for the event, showing how the characters look like in-game:

Both the short and long commercials show off the characters in-game, as well as what they can do. As a reminder, Mikoto and Misaki are in the gacha whereas Ruiko is free. You can get Ruiko if you play through the event’s storyline.

This event first appeared in the Asian servers from late October to November 2023. Mikoto is an attacker character who can apply shock damage over time. Misaki is a er who can increase her own defense and evasion every time she inflicts Confusion on an enemy. Finally, Ruiko is an attacker who can allies by raising their ATK.

A Certain Scientific Railgun is a spin-off of A Certain Magical Index, focusing more on the “Science” side characters. As the title suggests, Mikoto, the titular Railgun, is the main protagonist instead of Touma. Like Blue Archive, the world of A Certain Scientific Railgun takes place in an academic city-state and focuses on superpowered high schoolers. Seven Seas Entertainment is publishing the manga and you can watch the anime on services like Crunchyroll.

Blue Archive is readily available on mobile devices. The A Certain Scientific Railgun event in Blue Archive will end on May 14, 2024.

The post A Certain Scientific Railgun Event Is Live in Blue Archive appeared first on Siliconera.

Nexon has announced a collaboration between Blue Archive: The Animation and Pizza Hut. The event will start from May 13, 2024.

This announcement came from the livestream that took place on April 20, 2024. You can watch it here:

The promotional image for the event features Mutsuki, Aru, Haruka, and Kayoko eating pizza together. However, there isn’t much information on the collaboration itself. According to the livestream, more details will appear on a special site that’ll appear closer to the collaboration date. However, they guess that there will be a special, limited-time menu that you’ll be able to order from Pizza Hut stores in Japan.

Previous collaborations with Pizza Hut include Genshin Impact and The Quintessential Quintuplets. During these collaborations, there were special boxes that featured the promotional picture, as well as some merchandise like keychains and whatnot. It’s unknown if there will be any in-game items for people who don’t want to actually go and eat pizza. In any case, this collaboration is with the anime adaptation of the game, rather than the game itself.

Blue Archive came out in 2021 for mobile devices and it takes place in the academic city-state of Kivotos. It is a TRPG with turn-based combat, and since it’s a gacha game, you’ll need to pull with in-game or real-world currency in order to get more units for your roster. The anime series started from April 2024, with Yostar Pictures and Candybox animating it.

Blue Archive is available on mobile devices, and the Pizza Hut collaboration will start on May 13, 2024 in Japan.

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The Blue Archive anime adaptation’s exact release date is set, and character PVs for the main cast appeared. It will air in Japan starting on April 7, 2024, though no simulcast announcements have been made for it yet.

Here’s the official social media announcement, which included another look at the key art for the show. The adaptation will be covering the story of the first arc of the game. That’s the “Foreclosure Task Force.” It features the Abydos High School Countermeasures Committee characters as its stars. From left to right in the art, they are Ayane Okusora, Shiroko Sunaookami, Nonomi Izayoi, Hoshino Takanashi, and Serika Kuromi. 

We already had some idea that the show would appear in April 2024, but didn’t know exactly when. Nexon and Yostar confirmed that back in January 2024. That was the first real update since the show’s initial January 2023 reveal. Since then, we’ve seen some fairly regular trailer releases introducing the heroines. 

For example, here’s one showing Shiroko.

Hoshino showed up in one after that.

We got to see more of Serika in February 2024.

Nonomi’s PV also appeared at the end of February.

Finally, the most recent Blue Archive character trailer focused on Ayane. 

The Blue Archive anime will begin on April 7, 2024, and the game is available on Android and Apple iOS devices.

The post Blue Archive Anime Begins Airing Next Month, Character PVs Shared appeared first on Siliconera.

Nexon Games and Yostar Pictures announced the release date of the Blue Archive anime adaptation alongside the release of its first promotional trailer. Blue Archive The Animation will premiere in Japan in April 2024.

The trailer features various scenes of characters Shiroko, Hoshino, Serika, Nonomi, and Ayane preparing in the morning before going to school. Additionally, Nexon Games and Yostar also shared a new key visual art for the anime, as well as various character design sheets.

The design sheets feature Hoshino, Serika, Nonomi, Ayane from the Abydos High School, and Aru, Kayoko, Haruka, and Mutsuki of the Handyman 68 school club belonging to the Gehenna Academy.

You can check out the new key visual and the character design sheets in more detail here:

You can also watch the Blue Archive The Animation first teaser trailer herel:

The anime adaptation of Blue Archive was initially announced a year ago on January 23, 2023 to coincide with the celebration of the second anniversary of the Japanese release of the game.

The Blue Archive anime adaptation is currently in production and has a release date window set for April 2024. Meanwhile, Blue Archive is immediately available on Android and iOS devices.

The post Blue Archive Anime Release Date, Trailer, New Details Appear appeared first on Siliconera.

Korean game publisher Nexon is being fined 11.6 billion won, or approximately $8.85 million, for manipulating the drop rates of randomized items and loot boxes in games without informing players. This practice has apparently been affecting games like MapleStory and Bubble Fighter since 2010. [Thanks, @Citrussalt!]

According to the Korean Fair Trade Commission, Nexon had been changing the item drop rates for loot boxes and other gacha mechanics in its games, including reducing some items to a 0% chance of appearing, without disclosing these changes to players. Nexon also apparantly released a statement claiming no changes had been made, aiming to "lure customers by giving them false information". 28% of MapleStory's 560 billion won in sales came from in-game purchases in 2020.

Nexon itself has accepted the decision and apologised to it's customers, but has said it may seek to challenge the decision claiming the company was not required to reveal probability information at the time.

You can find the Korean Fair Trade Commission's official statement below, or read an English summary via the Korea Times here.

Nexon may be best known in the West for publishing games like Blue Archive, Dave the Diver and MapleStory, which had a string of anniversary events announced back in September, 2023. Nexon also publishes the mobile game Dynasty Warriors M, which launched worldwide late last year.

Nexon is being fined 11.6 billion won by the Korean Fair Trade Commission for deceptive business practices and violation of the Electronic Commerce Consumer Protection Act.

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Nexon has revealed Dynasty Warriors M, a new mobile action game that it will release for Android and iOS devices. Pre-registrations for the game are now available worldwide, including Japan.

Dynasty Warriors 9, the series' latest mainline console entry as of 2023, will serve as a basis for Dynasty Warriors M. Other than action battles, this mobile game will also feature a city development system similar to Koei Tecmo's Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. The app store descriptions reveal that this game will have 50 characters, slightly over half of Dynasty Warriors 9's 94-character roster.

Nexon had previously run Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, which was based on Dynasty Warriors 8. Its global version ran from March 2017 to March 2020. The company also released a separate version for Japan in September 2018, which lasted until October 2022.

The Dynasty Warriors series has seen more activity on mobile devices in recent years. The Dynasty Warriors 7-based game Dynasty Warriors: Overlords is immediately available worldwide outside Japan. In Japan, however, Dynasty Warriors M will directly contend with Koei Tecmo's own mobile game, which is still in active service since 2021 and has featured all 94 characters from Dynasty Warriors 9.

Nexon has soft-launched the Android version of Dynasty Warriors M in select territories on October 20, 2023. The iOS version and worldwide release will come later. The Apple App Store page notes that the game should be released by December 31, 2023.

The post Dynasty Warriors M Will Be Available on iOS and Android appeared first on Siliconera.

A collaboration with A Certain Scientific Railgun T will start in Blue Archive on October 24, 2023, and run until November 8, 2023. During the event, Mikoto, Misaki, and Ruiko will appear as limited characters. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

Mikoto and Misaki will be in the gacha, while Ruiko will be a free reward. In Blue Archive, Mikoto is an attacker character who can also apply shock damage over time with her normal skill. As for Misaki, she is a er who can increase her own defense and evasion every time she inflicts Confusion onto an enemy.

Finally, Ruiko is an attacker who can also her allies by raising their ATK. The more she uses this Skill, the more characters she’ll be able to buff, capping at three. Check out promotional images for the collaboration below:

A Certain Scientific Railgun T is the third season of A Certain Scientific Railgun. Railgun is a spin-off of A Certain Magical Index. Because the series is more focused on Mikoto, who has nothing to do with the magic side of the story, Railgun is very specifically about the science side. The season ran from January to September 2020. It follows Mikoto, who has to team up with Misaki Shokuho to stop the Academy’s dark side.

Blue Archive is readily available on mobile devices. An anime adaptation of the game is currently in production. The A Certain Scientific Railgun T collaboration in Blue Archive will run from October 24, 2023, to November 8, 2023.

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Nexon is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its MMORPG MapleStory’s Japanese launch in December 2023 with an anime collaboration, live concert, limited-time shops, and merchandise. In addition, a 20th anniversary website opened to introduce the details of each project.

Below is a list of all of the MapleStory 20th anniversary events that have been announced:

• 20th Anniversary Orchestral Concert
• KonoSuba Season 3 Anime Collaboration Event
• Limited-time Online Store MapleStory THE SHOP
• Maple Island 20th Anniversary In-game Event
• Social Media Campaign
• SUPER MAPLE PARTY Offline Event

The orchestral concert will be held on December 2, 2023 in Japan. Various songs from MapleStory soundtrack will be performed live. As for the SUPER MAPLE PARTY offline event, details will be announced at a later date. It will take place on December 3, 2023 in Shibuya, Japan.

View the key visual for the MapleStory orchestral concert below:

[caption id="attachment_983365" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Nexon[/caption]

You can check out the full list of limited merchandise and the prices on the MapleStory THE SHOP online store. Some highlights from the lineup include stickers, keychains, a computer mouse and keyboard, a desk mat, and mugs that all feature mascots from the game. The shop is open from September 8 to the end of February 2024.

Check out the MapleStory 20th anniversary merchandise in the gallery below:

[gallery ids="983372,983383,983373,983376,983381,983374,983377,983379,983378,983386,983375,983380,983384,983382,983385" link="file"]

A key visual for MapleStory’s collaboration with KonoSuba was also released. Further information on the event will be revealed on the official MapleStory website, as well as on social media.

View the MapleStory x KonoSuba collaboration event key visual below:

[caption id="attachment_983388" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Nexon[/caption]

More information on the Maple Island 20th anniversary in-game event will be released on the MapleStory official Japanese website and social media.

December 3, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the Japanese release of Nexon’s MapleStory. It is available to and play on PCs.

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