21-year-old MMORPG hires major YouTuber for video, doesn’t pay for honest criticism and bans publication

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Josh Strife Hayes is one of the biggest YouTubers when it comes to MMORPGs. In a new video, the experienced player explains why there has so far been no assessment of a 21-year-old online role-playing game on his channels.

Which MMORPG is it? MapleStory has already been around for more than 21 years, the first release in its home country of South Korea was in April 2003. Since August 2012 you have also been able to experience Nexon’s 2D MMORPG via Steam.

In a video from December 9, 2024, the well-known YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes (900,000+ subscribers on the main channel alone, via YouTube) explains that he was actually commissioned by an agency to produce a video about MapleStory. This video is also finished (and, according to Hayes, really good), but will probably never go live.

The only MapleStory trailer we have in the system:

MapleStory introduces Arteria, the Moving Fortress

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Audience trust is a currency

What is the reason for this? On YouTube, the content creator explains how the order came about and what happened afterwards:

  • For Josh Strife Hayes, audience trust is a currency that takes effort to build and can be lost much more quickly. That’s why it’s important to him that he can freely express his honest opinion in sponsored videos, even if the game in question doesn’t come off too well.
  • So when an agency representing Nexon approached Hayes about booking a review video for MapleStory, he immediately explained that it would only be possible as part of his “Worst MMO Ever?” video series (via YouTube) and that they will essentially be paying for their own episode in this series.
  • The agency explained that this was not possible. They want to pay Hayes for the most positive review possible. The YouTuber then explained that he could not accommodate such a video on his channels. The agency relented, but requested a pre-release version of the video for approval.
  • So Josh Strife Hayes made what he considered a fair, entertaining video on MapleStory for his “Worst MMO Ever?” series, in which he also praised some areas of the game, and sent it to the agency for approval.
  • The agency’s answer: The YouTuber played the game wrong because he first jumped on the Kain story, which is available to all beginners but is actually not intended for beginners.
  • The agency’s subsequent request, according to Hayes: to launch a second run that they believe better reflects the experience of beginners, and to act as if it were their first contact with MapleStory.
  • Josh Strife Hayes then pointed to a clause in the contract that states that he cannot be forced to do anything that could torpedo his integrity. But that’s exactly what would be the case if he claimed something for the video that wasn’t true.
  • The agency then stated that it would not pay for the video. When Hayes asked whether he could publish the video unpaid (after all, he was proud of it), the agency referred to another clause that states that any content created for this order automatically belongs to the agency or Nexon. In other words: Hayes would face a lawsuit.

    • You can watch the approximately twelve minute long video here:

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    Since the YouTuber doesn’t want to go to court with a global company like Nexon, he has decided not to publish the finished video to this day.

    His lesson from this story: Whenever a company approaches him for a sponsored video, he makes it clear from the start that he will only produce the video without outside influence and that he will be paid for the work even if the game The client came off badly, but the criticism was fair.

    Not surprisingly, only a few clients have worked with Hayes since then. He cites Jagex (RuneScape) and ArenaNet (Guild Wars 2) as positive examples, which obviously have enough self-confidence when it comes to their own product.

    How does the community react to the video? MapleStory obviously has a certain reputation among many players.

  • DavidJohnson-fc9bn explains on YouTube: “What a shock that the game that has spent literally years blatantly lying about its own gacha ratings hasn’t recognized the value of an honest review.”
  • mattw6705 wonders on YouTube: “How stupid to give players options and then say: – Oh, you shouldn’t play like that! – What a joke.”
  • Zflayre knows MapleStory well (via YouTube): “Nexon’s lack of integrity and their many scandals, as well as their general disdain for their own player base, is so egregious that most people have left the regular server […].”
  • Kastanja92 has had a bad experience with Nexon (via YouTube): “I remember the time when I played MapleStory and they sold a double XP ticket in the cash store for a cheaper price than usual […]. After I bought it and used it for a while, Nexon suddenly deleted it and I never got a refund. When I complained they just told me that according to TOS they can do whatever they want. Disgusting.”

    • Did you already know? The streamer Josh Strife Hayes ensures that planes fly in Brazil with his videos. Because without the videos it wouldn’t continue. The full story is here: An MMO professional is responsible for keeping planes flying in Brazil

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