At this year's PAX West, Nexon's MapleStory director, Wonki Kang, told us they have high hopes and expectations with their newest update, titled The Black, to bring back new or returning players to the series. We got in touch with Kang, Global MapleStory director, Jungil Bae, Global MapleStory Product Manager, Anna Lee, and MapleStory Producer, Dennis Bernardo, to talk about the latest update, the lore of the Black Mage, the future of MapleStory and more. Read on for the full interview.

^{Dennis Bernardo, Anna Lee, Jungil Bae}

T-ONO: What is your impression of PAX West so far? Did you get to walk around and interact with your fans?

Anna Lee: This is everyone’s first time at PAX, and it's really surprising to see how many people are actually here at the show. We were recently doing a press interview on the stage, and it was really exciting to see a lot of MapleStory fans while knowing this is one of the most famous games in Korea. We are really glad to see a lot of people enjoying the game.

T-ONO: Can you share some of the highlights about the latest update?

AL: The latest update was actually around June, titled the Ark update, with a new class and region. The class itself was also very unique when you compare it to other classes, as well as the visual aspect which was very important.

Another important part of the update which other countries currently did not have access to, which was highlighted in the Star Force update, that added an element for making your gear stronger.

T-ONO: Can you tell us anything about any future vanity items that fans can look forward too?

Dennis Bernardo: Our development team actually creates new items every month. Right now, we're doing a crossover event featuring Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. We also hold community contests, where the fans can design costumes themselves and submit them to our developers.

T-ONO: We know the Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card collaboration event has just started, but are there any future collaborations planned that could be game or anime related?

DB: We always look forward to doing collaborations to bring over newer players, or people that may not even know about MapleStory, or perhaps they can play it in a new way. We have done collaborations with Anime titles such as Evangelion, RE/0, and Attack on Titan. We are definitely looking forward to doing a lot more crossovers in the future.

T-ONO: Can you tell us a little bit about the new Black Mage update? Do you have any fun facts about the Black Mage lore?

Wonki Kang: The Black Mage is actually the main arch enemy of the game. It has been introduced since the very beginning of the game. The whole storyline is about bringing the Black Mage back into the lore. There are also a series of armies and mini-bosses players will battle before reaching the Black Mage. We have very high hopes that the new update will attract newer players to the game.

T-ONO: Obviously, the most interesting thing about Black Mage is that it is not actually a class. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Jungil Bae: Black Mage isn’t actually a class. It is considered more like the final boss of the game. It’s been out since the very start of the game, about 15 years. We are finally making it so everyone can participate in the battles. One major part of the content design. So everyone can level up and gear up together. We want everyone from every world to be playing together and participating together.

T-ONO: Are there any plans to add more classes in the future?

JB: Our goal is to always add new classes to create a unique experience for the player base.

T-ONO: We know you have brought MapleStory to the Nintendo DS in the past. With such a strong player base, would you be interested in bringing MapleStory to a home console machine such as the Nintendo Switch?

JB: Right now, there are no plans, but there is an internal discussion about expanding the IP to more platforms like mobile.

T-ONO: Lastly, do you have any message for your fans around the world, not just from America, who weren’t able to make it?

MapleStory Team: We are really grateful and happy to be here. It's a very rare case for us to be able to come all the way out to the west to meet all of our fans. We would love to get the chance to come back to the west to meet more of our fans. With the new Black Mage update, we hope everyone will try it out and have high hopes and expectations.