On Feb. 29, Nexon unveiled Vindictus: Defying Fate, a new title based on the Mabinogi: Heroes IP. Nexon stated, "Vindictus: Defying Fate is a new action RPG developed using Unreal Engine, presenting a completely fresh gaming experience." The game tells the stories of various characters venturing towards the truth of the world within a predetermined fate in a fantasy world based on Celtic mythology. It's constructed as an original story that interprets and unfolds the existing Mabinogi: Heroes IP differently.

Furthermore, they explained, "The original Mabinogi: Heroes has been highly praised for its action from the early stages, with its diverse characters and profound storyline being considered strengths." They added, "While maintaining the fun of the action from the original, we decided to focus more on a moderate action-oriented approach rather than speed and aimed to create a game structure where players can immerse themselves more in the narrative. Therefore, after three months of prototyping in early 2023, we began development in April."

Vindictus: Defying Fate is a single-player game. It provides different aspects of combat and tempo for each character, allowing players to choose actions that suit their style. By utilizing the weapons, skills, and combat styles unique to each character, players can continuously challenge powerful boss monsters with their own patterns and exploit weaknesses to defeat them.

Nexon will conduct a free alpha test from March 14th to 18th. During the test, players can experience two characters. Nexon plans to add some characters from the original IP and original characters through continuous updates.

The free alpha test version of Vindictus: Defying Fate does not apply the story system. Nexon explained, "As it is the initial stage of the game, we couldn't fully showcase the specific world or settings of Celtic mythology." They added, "The free alpha test focuses on combat."

Additionally, they mentioned, "Character parry actions will not be applied during development or testing," and "Although the groggy state of boss monsters is implemented, powerful character attacks against boss monsters in the groggy state are still under development."

Nexon stated, "We will gradually reveal specific details, including the schedule for the free alpha test, through Steam and official community channels." They concluded, "We await the participation and feedback of many mercenaries, and we will work even harder to meet your expectations."