Nexon's new western targeted MMOG Sugar Rush in closed beta

Nexon America's Min Kim dropped a hint in late May that an upcoming MMO title was in development in their Vancouver studio. The big secret is Sugar Rush, a new casual based MMO romp and stomp with coin collection mixed into the fray. It is the first MMOG from that studio that is intended specifically for North American audiences. While Sugar Rush is free to play, it will sustain development costs via a microtransaction model "item mall" similar to many other free to play MMOs. The game is currently in closed beta and Nexon America is not accepting applications at this time, but we hear it may launch in the very near future.

The development team working on Sugar Rush is based in Vancouver, Canada and includes former Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios Group vice president and creative director Steve Rechtschaffner, as well as studio Klei Entertainment. Headed by Jamie Cheng, Klei Entertainment previously developed and published Eets, a 2D puzzle game for PCs which was later revamped for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

It will be interesting to see how Sugar Rush does in North America. MapleStory is unquestionably highly successful. It put Nexon on the global radar and shocked the naysayers when MapleStory earned 29 million dollars in revenue -- not bad for a free to play MMOG! The whole western and eastern MMOG market juxtaposition is fascinating; many have shunned a lot of eastern games in discussing the western market and vice-versa. A video from the closed beta showcasing game play is after the jump. Let us know what you think.