NCSOFT’s Action-MMO MXM Is Launching in 2016

The first time I saw the action-MOBA MXM (aka Master X Master) was in Korea late last year at NCSOFT's booth at G-Star, a convention that's essentially Korea's version of PAX. While I was satisfied with both the co-operative PvE and the arena-style PvP, the game was entirely in Korean so there was much that was left in translation.

Luckily, I had a quick session of the (mostly) localized version of MXM at a private meeting with NCSOFT, which cleared up several things about the game. But first, the major announcement is that MXM will release in North America and Europe in the back half of 2016, likely with a host of betas along the way until then. The reveal trailer above shows off some of the quality CG in the game, but it doesn't show much in the gameplay.

That said, and this may surprise you, but MXM actually feels close to Marvel Ultimate Alliance instead of the traditional MOBA. In what has been dubbed the Tag System, you can flip between two heroes from the roster, comprised of 30 characters (so far) that are mainly from NCSOFT's catalog (Lineage, Blade & Soul, etc.). It might as well be called "NCSOFT Smash Bros." In PvE you and your party run through futuristic levels blasting and slashing everything to smithereens, earning rewards based on the level's difficulty and your party's overall performance.

I won't delve too deeply into the gameplay here since I already wrote a preview for it. But suffice it to say, MXM is on track. It's only obstacle at this point is selling the game to an American audience who may not be entirely familiar with NCSOFT's characters. Other than that, though, it has the strong gameplay foundation to influence MOBAs for the better.