MapleStory: Idle RPG

Among the ten most popular in-app purchases on the US App Store page for MapleStory : Idle RPG, the cheapest bundle costs $1.09 and the most expensive costs $109.00[1]. That spread says most of what you need to know about how the game makes money. Download it for nothing, then decide how far up that ladder you want to climb.

In Korea, plenty of players have climbed. On September 27, 2026, Apple's top-grossing chart for games in the Korean App Store lists this game at number one[2]. The same chart for the United States does not include it in the top 50[3]. On Google Play in the US, the store labels it the number seven top-grossing role-playing game[4]. Everything below was checked that day against Apple and Google store pages and Nexon's investor filings.

The ranking would be unremarkable if not for January. Eight months ago, Nexon offered every player a full refund.

Your character keeps grinding after the screen goes dark

MapleStory is Nexon's long-running side-scrolling MMORPG on PC. MapleStory: Idle RPG takes its cute 2D look, its classes and its bosses, and moves them into the idle genre. According to Nexon's investor filings, the game was co-developed by Able Games and is published by Nexon Korea, a wholly owned subsidiary[5].

Idle means the fighting happens without you. Your character farms monsters, gains experience and levels up while the app is closed, and the store description opens by promising that you keep leveling up even when idle[4]. What you actually do is manage the build. The store copy lists four things to care about: recruiting companions, clearing growth dungeons by learning boss patterns, fighting other players in a PvP arena, and dressing up your character with cosmetic items[4].

Long-time MapleStory fans will recognize the names that keep arriving. Bishop and Paladin were added in late January, Buccaneer and Corsair in late April, and Wind Archer and Night Walker in late July[1]. The version history also includes a Zakum raid, a Horntail raid and a Romeo and Juliet content drop[1].

The technical ask is light. The iOS build is about 441MB and needs iOS 15.0 or later[6]. The game supports seven languages: English, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Portuguese[6].

From $1.09 to $109.00, plus two memberships

As of September 27, the US App Store shows these as the game's most popular purchases[1]:

• Bundles labeled MI PKG: $1.09, $2.19, $4.39, $6.59, $10.90, $21.90, $32.99 and $109.00
• Maple Special Membership: $2.19
• Maple Premium Membership: $8.69

That list is Apple's selection of ten items, not the full in-game catalog. The store page also does not say how long either membership lasts. You find that out on the purchase screen inside the game.

Randomized rewards are part of the design. Apple's lookup data for the US storefront carries a Loot Boxes advisory[6], and Google Play's Korean page lists in-game purchases that include random items[7]. The September 3 update added a guaranteed summoning system[1], but no store page explains how many pulls it takes to reach the guarantee.

Where the actual odds live depends on which store you read. The Taiwanese Google Play description points players to a Nexon page called NEXON NOW for probability information[8]. The English and Korean store texts do not carry that line. We opened the NEXON NOW page while writing this review, but it renders only through browser scripts, and we could not confirm the numbers.

A coding error found on January 25

Nexon's own filing tells the story plainly. On January 25, 2026, the company discovered a coding error that applied values different from the stated ones to specific paid items[5]. The operators at Nexon Korea had corrected it without notifying players, and management learned of the problem only after players posted complaints that their purchased items were underperforming[5].

Nexon announced disciplinary action and process changes, then gave players worldwide two options. They could take in-game compensation, or they could request a full refund of every payment made between November 6, 2025 and January 28, 2026[5]. Refund requests were open from February 5 to February 15, handled through the app stores, with completion expected by March 15[9]. Anything bought after January 28 was not eligible[5].

The refund came with a condition. Accounts that received a cash refund were restricted from further participation[5]. Nexon framed that as a way to prevent abuse and to protect players who stayed. In practice, the refund was an exit, and compensation was the path for anyone who wanted to keep playing.

The cost was large enough to show up in the company's results. Nexon said the estimated refunds reduced its fourth-quarter 2025 revenue by roughly ¥9 billion and operating income by roughly ¥4 billion[9]. The same letter noted that the game had held the number one spot in Korea for more than ten weeks after launch[9].

A new version every three weeks, and Pink Bean in September

The update schedule did not slow after the refunds. Converted to Korean time, the App Store version history shows nine updates from March 19 to September 3, each exactly three weeks apart, each landing early on a Thursday morning[1]. The April 30 build added a half-anniversary event[1]. In its second-quarter letter, Nexon said the game beat its revenue outlook and credited that half-anniversary update[10].

September brought two builds. Version 1.15.0 on September 3 added a Pink Bean boss raid, revamped Star Force enhancement and introduced the guaranteed summoning system[1]. Version 1.16.0 on September 22 upgraded the costume system and reworked the town[1]. That second build arrived two days ahead of the three-week rhythm.

Nexon's own forecast was cooler than the chart. In its August 13 letter, the company said it expected the game's third-quarter revenue to moderate from the second quarter[10]. Six weeks later, the Korean App Store still has it at the top of the games grossing chart[2]. In Taiwan, where it is sold as 楓之谷：放置冒險記, it sits at number 13 on the same day[11].

Who should install it, and who cannot

Not everyone can. Nexon's launch filing excludes Japan, China, Vietnam, Slovakia and Belgium, among other regions[5]. The Japanese App Store returns no result for the app[6]. Players in the US, Singapore and Taiwan can download it[6].

The game suits a few kinds of player. Anyone with fond memories of MapleStory's jobs and bosses will find them here. It also fits commuters who want to check in for a few minutes at a time, and anyone whose phone is short on storage. A steady three-week update cycle gives a reason to keep it installed.

Other players should think twice. If you want to compete on the arena rankings without paying, expect to hit a wall. Reviews on the Korean App Store page complain about purchase pop-ups and phones running hot[1]. And if you tend to pull on loot boxes without checking the odds, this game's January is the reason to change that habit.

Before your first purchase, find the probability menu inside the game and check how many days the $2.19 Special Membership actually covers. Neither answer is on the store page.

Sources

[1] Apple. MapleStory : Idle RPG, App Store (US) and 메이플 키우기, App Store (Korea). In-app purchase list, version history, user reviews. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[2] Apple. Top-grossing games RSS, Korea. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[3] Apple. Top-grossing games RSS, United States. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[4] Google. MapleStory : Idle RPG, Google Play (US). Accessed September 27, 2026.

[5] NEXON Co., Ltd. Investor Update: MapleStory: Idle RPG Coding Error and Player Refunds. Published February 2, 2026. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[6] Apple. iTunes Search API lookup, id 6739616715. Queried for the US, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan storefronts. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[7] Google. 메이플 키우기, Google Play (Korea). Accessed September 27, 2026.

[8] Google. 楓之谷：放置冒險記, Google Play (Taiwan). Accessed September 27, 2026.

[9] NEXON Co., Ltd. Q4 2025 Earnings Letter. Published February 12, 2026. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[10] NEXON Co., Ltd. Q2 2026 Earnings Letter. Published August 13, 2026. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[11] Apple. Top-grossing games RSS, Taiwan. Accessed September 27, 2026.