MapleStory 2 launches in October, battle royale mode this week

MapleStory 2 has been in and out of closed beta tests for the past couple of months, but the release date for the free-to-play MMO has finally been announced. The mushroom-hunting game will come to all players on Oct. 10, according to a news release from Nexon.

Nexon also announced that starting on Aug. 22, players will be able to reserve character names and participate in the preseason for the Mushking Royale mode. Yes, MapleStory 2 has a battle royale mode for all the Fortnite fans out there.

Mushking Royale was tested in the second closed beta and will have new features added, like the ability to play in squads with up to three other players. The top players in Mushking Royale will be awarded Founder’s Packs, which include exclusive items and cosmetics.

Players who purchase Founder’s Packs will also be able to take place in a “head start” event, where they can have exclusive access to the game starting Oct. 1. The Mushking Royale preseason will run until this early access date.

MapleStory 2 is a spiritual sequel to the original side-scrolling MMO MapleStory, though the games’ lore doesn’t align perfectly and the gameplay style is dramatically different. While MapleStory 2 was originally set to be a prequel, that isn’t the case anymore.