This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Crypto MMORPG MapleStory N said it’s banned thousands of accounts and is monitoring the game’s players for suspicious activity such as bot accounts or cheaters.
“With ongoing updates to the automated system, more than 200 detections and corresponding restrictive measures are now being processed every hour,” the game’s team said in a developer’s note.
The note, the text of which can also be read on a mirror post published last week, continued: “Our team continues to conduct thorough manual reviews based on user reports and submitted evidence. As a result of these combined efforts, a total of 6,503 sanctions were issued over the past 24 hours.”
The MapleStory N team said they’re using security tools to detect cheat programs and those who might try to use multiple devices at the same time via automation tools. They’re also on the lookout for “mass logins, rapid character creation, [and] unusual trading and leveling activity.”
MapleStory N launched just two weeks ago, and uses its own dedicated Avalanche L1 (also known as a subnet) for its crypto elements.
Because crypto games involve financial rewards, some are incentivized to “bot” a game, or automate activity across numerous accounts, to farm rewards in the form of tokens or NFTs that can then be cashed out.
Botting, or other types of cheating, can be present across all types of video games more broadly.
In crypto gaming, though, botters present an issue to game developers because such actors are only playing the game to extract funds — not purchase items for cosmetic purposes or otherwise spend more than is absolutely necessary in a game. This can mean less revenue for the game’s studio, and real players lose out on rewards as a result.
