We recently announced that MapleStory in the U.S. held an in-game event based on the cultural phenomenon of the Black Friday shopping day, and now MapleStory Europe has announced its own in-game events for the winter. MapleStory Europe has added new items to its Cash Shop, and additionally, will now offer a new Japanese-themed area, the Mushroom Shrine.

Notable are the "My Boyfriend" and "My Girlfriend" effect items now for sale in the cash shop. When equipped, a pointer will float over a character's head to indicate that the avatar alongside them is their in-game relationship partner. MapleStory provides a means for characters to marry, with the ceremonies and requirements differing culturally depending on the game's region, and relationships between characters are a big part of the MapleStory social environment.

The Cash Shop also adds a "Mushroom House Elf," a character who will mind a player's Free Market store when they're offline, and an item called the Water of Life, which will resurrect pets who have passed on for another 90 days.

Calvin Yoo, director of International Business Development at Nexon Europe, commented, “Innovative new items to the Cash Shop such as the My Boyfriend and My Girlfriend accessories help to capture players’ imagination and build in-game communities while new areas like The Mushroom Shrine add exciting new challenges that really keep people’s interest. Rest assured, we’ve got lots more great updates like these on the way."