Mabinogi is an online game released by South Korean Game Distributing Company Nexon, and developed by devCAT studio, one of several development teams in Nexon Inc. The Welsh word mabinogi gold is found in the original manuscripts of the Mabinogion.
The game engine features hand-painted textures stylized with edge detection outlining. The game world is developed continuously, through the release of important patches (referred to as "Generations" and "Seasons") that introduce new areas, additional features such as pets and new skills, and advancement of the storyline. The user interface is simple and designed in the likeness of Microsoft Windows'' task bar.
mabinogi gold was built on a hybrid Value Added Services model (which varies slightly for each game localization) that allows free play for limited time a day and the subscription of paid packages, purchased through the game shop. In South Korea, beginning with the Chapter 3 patch, mabinogi gold changed to micro-transactions. It now allows 24-hour free play and the Item Shop only offers items, without subscriptions.
The game service is currently available in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, North America and most recently New Zealand and Australia.
The player is not limited by any class other than the character''s race, and is free to level up any of the different skills available. The combination of skill choices, age, items, physical constitution, and other variables such as user titles, is what makes up the character. The gameplay is largely skill-based. To learn and improve skills, Ability Points are required.
There are also various social aspects, like sitting around a campfire, playing music, having a friendly chat, sharing food, as well as making use of different facial expressions to make user interaction more colorful.