Global Release

0:00 The Global Release is the worldwide launch of Aion 2 on PC, through Steam and NC's own PURPLE launcher, on Monday, Oct 5, 2026 at 06:00 PDT (13:00 UTC), when the free-to-play game opened to everyone, on time. NC set the date with this trailer at gamescom Opening Night Live on Aug 25, 2026 (MassivelyOP, quoting NC's press release). The open Launch Scale Test ran on Sep 17 and 18, and Founder's Pack owners played from Sep 30 in Advanced Access, which drew a Steam peak of 171,530 concurrent players on its first day. Launch day itself peaked at 397,905 on Steam (SteamDB), and NC opened 49 server pairs by its evening. The game has been live in Korea and Taiwan since Nov 19, 2025 (Korea and Taiwan Launch); the global version is a separate, PC-only service that starts about a year behind Korea in content.

Quick facts

Announcement, April 2026

0:00 NC announced the "Global Service for Aion 2 coming in 2026" on Steam on Apr 21, 2026, with an announce trailer.

The post promised servers in four regions (North America, South America, Europe and Japan) and in-game language options for English, French, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Korean and Russian, and said the development team would share more news in May. NC's press release the same day stated that "the Aion 2 global version is built specifically for PC" and named NC America in Irvine, California as the publisher for North America, South America, Europe and Oceania (NC (NCSOFT)).

The date had been narrowing for months. NC's report for the third quarter of 2025 placed the global launch in the second half of 2026, and its first-quarter call in May 2026 said the third quarter; NC's first-quarter results again promised global service "in North America, South America, Europe and Japan in the second half of 2026" (TheElec, May 15, 2026). The history before this point is on Development History.

Summer Game Fest and the September window

0:00 At Summer Game Fest on Jun 5, 2026 NC showed a new trailer and announced a September 2026 launch on Steam and PURPLE.

Media demonstrations followed at Play Days from Jun 6 to 8. Hardcore Gamer's preview there was not hands-on: its writer sat with the developers, who said aerial combat would feature in open-world PvE and PvP but not in instanced content and that over 200 pets would be available at launch. NC Director of Operations Daniel LaFuente said "the vast vast majority" of outfits would come from playing rather than the cash shop.

On Jul 22, 2026 NC put the Founder's Packs on sale. Standard ($24.99) gives five days of early access, the Daeva's Campaign Supply Chest and the title Vanguard of Atreia; Deluxe ($49.99) adds the Ascended Daeva armor skin and Eternal Sun weapon skin; Ultimate ($99.99) adds the Daeva's Styling Chest, the Moonlit Aria armor skin, the Black Dragon pet and the Blazing Sun Wings.

Beyond the Abyss, Aug 7, 2026

NC America's first global livestream answered most of the open questions about the western version.

47:39 Servers would be hosted in five regions, named on the stream as NA West, NA East, South America, Central Europe and Japan. Players choose a region when they first log in and are not region-locked, so a European can join friends in North America at the cost of higher latency.

7:18 That leaves some players far from any server. CrusherXGaming pointed out that there is no dedicated server for Southeast Asia or Oceania, whose players must connect to Japan, Europe or NA West, and that NC had only said it was still exploring more locations.

20:29 Each account starts with four character slots, expandable to eight.

29:54 Expedition parties are five players instead of the four of the Korean launch, and Expeditions run in two modes: Exploration, in which Shugos guide the party through the mechanics, and Conquest, without that help (Expedition Dungeons).

31:47 The Sanctuary raid grows from eight players to ten, and the global version starts with Ludra, a dragon-like boss whose encounter splits the raid into two groups of five (Sanctuary Raids). Ludra was playable in Advanced Access, and NC took it out at the launch to rework it.

35:02 Battlegrounds are 10v10 with skill levels and stats equalized for everyone, and their objectives rotate. PvP can be toggled on or off in the open world from the start, but the Abyss is always a PvP zone (Battlefield, PvP).

50:08 The stream also answered the loudest criticism of the Founder's Packs. The pack cosmetics, which Korea sells directly in its shop, will not be sold directly on the global version after the packs, and every tier, including packs already bought, gains 30 days of Membership. NC confirmed the change on Steam on Aug 21, listing the Membership's benefits: remote storage, personal trading, the Wind Breeze Merchants, a higher Odyle Energy cap, the Market, the Quna Exchange Shop and more Odyle Energy Cube selections in Expedition, Transcendence and Sanctuary (Membership).

gamescom and the Oct 5 date

NC's gamescom press release of Aug 25, 2026 gave Monday, Oct 5 for North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with Founder's early access from Sep 30 to Oct 4 (MassivelyOP). A GamesBeat brief the same day said NC had not formally named Oct 5, but NC's release, NC's second-quarter results (TheElec) and the Steam store, which lists Aion 2 as coming on Oct 5, 2026 and free to play, all give that date. NC's Steam post of Aug 26 detailed the Launch Scale Test and told Steam players to uninstall the Playtest app and download Aion 2 separately for Advanced Access on Sep 30. NVIDIA showed the game with DLSS 4.5 the next day (System Requirements).

The Steam page also carries a generative AI disclosure: "Some in-game assets were created with the assistance of AI tools. Arcana card designs and some icons use AI-generated assets." MassivelyOP flagged it in its gamescom report (Controversies).

Launch Scale Test, Sep 17 and 18

The open Launch Scale Test let anyone play the global client for six hours on each of Sep 17 and 18, up to level 37, with no shop or trading and a full wipe afterwards. In Europe the two servers per faction filled within minutes on the first morning and NC added two more pairs. On Steam the test peaked at 73,761 concurrent players on Sep 17 (SteamDB, via MMOHuts), a figure that leaves out PURPLE, and reviews of the Playtest app stood at Mostly Positive, 70.6% of 187, as of Sep 30, 2026. Press praised the world, flight and production values and criticized the mobile-style interface, auto-navigation and easy opening. After the test NC disabled direct trading between players as an anti-bot measure and added a priority queue for "members in good standing" when servers are full.

Advanced Access, Sep 30 to Oct 4

NC opened the pre-download to all players on Sep 28; mein-mmo put it at 80.2 GB. Advanced Access, the early access included in every Founder's Pack, was due to open on Sep 30 at 06:00 PDT and opened at 07:00 PDT (14:00 UTC) after two 30-minute delays, for which NC gave every player 10 Resurrection Spiritstones. The first hours brought a locked character creation, connection errors and long queues in Europe. NC added three European and two Asian server pairs, asked new players to use recommended servers, and gave everyone an Appearance Change Voucher for the queues (Servers).

SteamDB recorded a peak of 171,530 concurrent Steam players on Sep 30, 2026 and placed the game first among Steam's top sellers; NC's own figures put it first on Steam's global Top Sellers and first in eight countries. Steam reviews stood at Mixed, about 57% positive of about 1,000, that evening, after a mostly negative start from buyers stuck outside the servers. Over the next four days NC fixed login and purchase errors, added four more early access pairs and gave several gifts, and on Oct 3 it promised to make Founder's Pack cosmetics account-wide. Advanced Access ended on Oct 4 at 22:00 PDT, and everything earned in it carried over to the launch.

Launch day, Oct 5

Advanced Access ended on Oct 4 at 22:00 PDT (Oct 5, 05:00 UTC) with an eight-hour maintenance. At 12:48 UTC on Oct 5 NC posted that Aion 2 "will be launching globally on time", and at 06:00 PDT (13:00 UTC) the servers opened to everyone; SteamDB records the Steam release at 13:00:24 UTC. That was 09:00 EDT, 10:00 in Brasília, 14:00 BST, 15:00 CEST and 22:00 JST. The maintenance also shortened the wait to delete a character from 168 hours to 24, allowed deleting from level 1, and made some bosses stronger because they were "set too low for the intended difficulty of a five-player party" (Advanced Access).

The launch lineup had 43 Elyos and Asmodian server pairs: the 19 early access pairs and 24 new "commercial launch servers", with Europe's under new names such as Nania, Hadala, Bakarma and Kromede. Players without a pack could pick either kind. NC added two pairs in Asia within the first 70 minutes and four in Europe between 09:30 and 12:50 PDT, for 49 pairs (98 servers) that evening (Servers). Shortly before the opening NC took the Sanctuary raid Ludra out of the launch build, because early access players had beaten it sooner than intended; it will return with new mechanics and a First Clear event, and NC promised its date by Oct 16 (Sanctuary Raids).

Within hours NC thanked players for reaching 300,000 and then 400,000 "active users", and sent everyone 15 Artisan's Roasted Fogus and 15 Resurrection Spiritstones; that evening it gave every player a Customization Voucher because so many wanted to change their skins. On Steam the game peaked at 397,905 concurrent players on Oct 5, more than twice the Advanced Access peak of 171,530 and above the 336,300 of NC's Throne and Liberty in 2024 (SteamDB; Inven Global); players on PURPLE are not counted. NC's press release of Oct 6 put the peak above 400,000 concurrent users and said Aion 2 was first in Steam's New and Trending and Top Free to Play charts that day; those are NC's own figures (Reception and Revenue).

The last day to buy a Founder's Pack was Oct 5 at 08:00 PDT according to NC's notices; NC America's press release of Sep 30 had said Oct 4. Server transfers within a faction open on Oct 14 and are free at first, but characters from early access can move only between early access servers (Servers).

The first week

The first weekly maintenance began at 23:30 PDT on Oct 6, for three and a half hours in the Americas and Europe and five and a half in Asia. Its patch made Founder's Pack cosmetics usable on every character through a free Founder's Pack shop (Founder's Packs), capped at 20 a week per server the morphing of Sealed Wings into Enhance Stones, raised the drop rate of Raw Leather in Chaotic Lower Reshanta, Verteron and Altgard, added Resurrection Spiritstones to the Wind Breeze Merchants at 25,000 Kina each (ten a week, until Dec 15), allowed 30 map pins, and fixed a weekly Asmodian Challenge Season mission. The Americas and Europe were back by 09:10 UTC on Oct 7 (Updates and Seasons).

Launch rewards and events

Everyone who creates an account and logs in before the maintenance on Dec 1, 2026 (23:30 PT) receives the pre-registration and Steam wishlist rewards by in-game mail, which expires on Dec 8, NC announced on Sep 30. They are an "Advance: Pet Chest" with the pet Pagati and one pet of choice (Papis, Silver Blade Rotan, Konutin Worker or Black Smoke Murute), and an "Advance: Wishlist Chest" with 10 Resurrection Spiritstones, 100 Life Potions, 50 Healing Potions and 50 each of Return, Courage, Speed and Benediction Scrolls, all bound (Pets and Mounts). NC's table gives the European deadline as Dec 2 at 09:30 CEST, but Central Europe is on CET by December, which makes it 08:30 CET.

Two attendance logs run from Sep 30 to Dec 15, 2026, and each can be claimed once per server: the seven-day Launch Commemorative Shugo Attendance, which builds to 1,000,000 bound Kina on its seventh day, and a 14-day Daily Attendance log of Life Crystals, Battle Enhance Scrolls, Resurrection Spiritstones, Hidden Cube keys, skin chests, Unknown Fissure Challenge Tickets and Odyle Energy, all bound (NC, Sep 30, 2026).

Twitch Drops come in two sets for watching any participating Aion 2 stream: Sep 30 to Oct 4, during Advanced Access, and Oct 5 to Oct 16. Streams of the 60 War for Atreia creators add their own drops: Oct 2 to 4, Oct 7 to 9 (up to a pet called Two after four hours) and Oct 12 to 14 (up to a Leather Crop Fit outfit after four hours), all to be claimed by Oct 30. A graphics card giveaway for players in the United States, Canada and most of Europe runs from Oct 5 to Oct 12. The launch set runs from four Odyle Energy after one hour to the Adorable Young Elim shoulder item after ten, with a skin chest, 5,000 Enhancement Stones, a Head Bow helm skin, two Soul Codex resets and 10 Resurrection Spiritstones in between.

1:55:02 NC's broadcaster Stella first announced War for Atreia on the Launch Scale Test's second day: 60 creators in six teams across North America, Europe and Latin America, in a two-week contest with viewer challenges and Twitch drops, starting with early access on Sep 30. NC's release gives the run as Sep 30 to Oct 14, with points feeding a global Faction War between Elyos and Asmodians and a Top Legion race, and hidden bounties along the way. The captains are Stoopzz and Sonii for North America, Baggins and Wakayashi for Europe, and Rakin and Tixinha for Latin America.

NC's community events for North America, Latin America and Europe run alongside: Daeva Makeover, a character creation contest from Sep 30 to Oct 19, with 6,000 Quna for each category winner; Guides for Glory, for player-made guides, from Oct 5 to Nov 2; a Transcendence Dungeon leaderboard in Deus Research Base and Shattered Arkanis, ranked per server and class, from Oct 5 to Nov 2 (from Sep 30 on early access servers); and Beauty of Atreia, with weekly screenshot themes from Oct 5 to Nov 9. NC Japan runs its own campaigns for the Asia region, among them a customization contest on X until Oct 31.

On Sep 29 NC also opened the Aion 2 Creator Program for streamers and video makers, run through the Lurkit platform in three tiers: Affiliate from 500 followers on one platform, Creator from 2,000 followers with about 20 concurrent viewers or 5,000 YouTube views in 30 days, and Partner from 50,000 followers with about 75 viewers or 25,000 views. NC calls the numbers guidelines rather than hard limits; the benefits include event invitations, Twitch Drop campaigns and direct contact with NC staff.

How the global version differs from Korea's

4:59 The missing ninth class is the clearest sign of the gap. The Brawler, added in Korea on Jul 1, 2026, is not in the global launch lineup, which CrusherXGaming reads as evidence that the global version launches on an earlier build than the one Korea is running; NC has not said when the Brawler might follow.

2:21 Dungeons open in stages. OmniPower's recap of NC's September dungeon stream says only the one-, two- and three-star Expeditions will be open at first on the global version, and plays NC's explanation that Exploration mode unlocks Krao Cave at level 20, Urugugu Canyon at 28 and the Fire Temple at 35, then three more at 45, with Conquest from 45. On the same stream NC said there will be no Heroic gear in the first global season, from dungeons or crafting, "to slow the pace of progression".

1:00:58 Factions are less strictly separated than they were at the Korean launch. Global dungeon matching can group players from the other faction and from other servers, or be limited to one's own faction for those who prefer it (Elyos, Asmodians).

13:44 Some additions are new to the global version: NC's senior producer mentioned tattoos for characters, a feature he said had not been talked about before (Character Creation).

Content pace

NC has chosen to launch behind Korea and catch up gradually. Hardcore Gamer reported in June 2026 that the global version would run about a year behind the Korean one, rolling out content according to community input and player progression data. LaFuente explained the balance: "We go too quickly, players feel like you're pressuring them... We go too slow, maybe they're bored because they want more content", adding that weekly content "strikes the middle ground". NC told Wccftech in September that seasons generally come about every three months and that the global version will be similar, and NC America's Merv Lee Kwai told MMORPG.com shortly before early access that global pacing was still undecided, because regions consume content at different speeds. Korea's later updates are listed on Updates and Seasons.

Preparing for launch

1:21 Creators' first advice is social rather than technical. EPIC PLK urges groups of friends to agree on a server before launch: there is no region lock, but each player's market and PvP pool live on their own server. He also notes that since every Founder's Pack gained 30 days of Membership, the Standard pack costs about $10 more than a month of Membership and adds five days of early access.

The client has been available for pre-download to all players since Sep 28; mein-mmo put it at 80.2 GB, and Steam asks for 100 GB of free space and recommends an SSD. Steam players who took part in the Launch Scale Test must uninstall the Playtest app and download Aion 2 itself. A Steam player needs no PURPLE account, but linking the NC account to Steam lets one character be played on both platforms; NC published linking and unlinking guides on Sep 29 and 30, and some players who had joined an earlier beta could not link until they removed the temporary beta account (Platforms). At first login a player picks a region, then a faction, then a server; NC points new players to its recommended servers, and transfers open on Oct 14 (Servers). Under NC's business model the Membership, $14.99 for 30 days since NC's notice of Sep 28, is required to use the Market and the Kina and Quna exchange (Business Model, Market and Exchange).

Frequently asked questions

When was Aion 2's global release? Monday, Oct 5, 2026, on Steam and PURPLE, on time at 06:00 PDT (13:00 UTC). Founder's Pack owners played from Sep 30 in Advanced Access, and the open Launch Scale Test ran on Sep 17 and 18.

Was the launch delayed? No. Advanced Access had opened an hour late on Sep 30, but NC confirmed at 12:48 UTC on Oct 5 that the launch was on time, and the servers opened at 06:00 PDT (13:00 UTC).

How many people played on launch day? On Steam, 397,905 at the same time at the peak on Oct 5, 2026, and two days later still 373,854 at the peak of the 24 hours to the evening of Oct 7 (SteamDB). NC said the peak passed 400,000 concurrent users; it has not broken that figure down by platform.

Can free players join early access servers? Yes. Since Oct 5 players without a Founder's Pack can choose an early access server or one of the new launch servers, although character creation may be restricted on crowded servers.

Did Advanced Access progress carry over? Yes. Characters from Advanced Access continued at launch; only the Launch Scale Test was wiped. Gear from the Ludra raid is held back until the reworked raid returns, which NC set for Nov 4, 2026.

Is the global version on consoles or mobile? No. The global version is PC only, on Steam and PURPLE. NC told Wccftech in September 2026 that a console version is planned after the PC launch, without a date and probably without cross-play, and that there are no plans for a mobile version.

Is Aion 2 global region-locked? No. Players pick one of five server regions (Europe, NA West, NA East, Latin America or Asia, hosted in Japan) at first login and can play in any of them, with latency depending on distance.

What languages does the global version support? According to NC's Launch FAQ, voice in English, Japanese and Korean, and text and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Japanese and Korean.

Will the global version have the Brawler? Not at launch. The global version starts with eight classes, and NC has not said when the Brawler might be added.

Is the global version behind Korea? Yes, deliberately. NC's global team has said it will run about a year behind Korea in content, starting without Heroic gear and with only the early Expeditions open.

Do you need a Founder's Pack to play? No. Aion 2 has been free to play since Oct 5; a Founder's Pack bought five days of early access, cosmetics and 30 days of Membership. The Launch Scale Test was also free.

Sources

• "Ludra Awakens on November 4th", NC, Oct 23, 2026 (also on Steam)
• Aion 2 news: "Announcing Aion 2's Global Release", Apr 21, 2026; "Founder's Pack Content Showcase", Jul 22, 2026; "30-Day Membership Added to Founder's Packs", Aug 21, 2026; "Launch Scale Test Coming Up", Aug 26, 2026; NC on Steam
• "Launch Scale Test Comes to a Close: What's Next?", NC on Steam, Sep 19, 2026
• "Pre-download Available Now", Sep 28, 2026, "Advanced Access Servers", Sep 29, 2026, and "Introducing the Aion 2 Creator Program", Sep 29, 2026, NC on Steam
• "Launch FAQ", "Information on server transfer", "Global Twitch Drops", "War For Atreia" and "Community Launch Events Overview", NC on Steam, Sep 30, 2026
• "Launch Rewards", "Launch Server Matchmaking", "New Server and Matchmaking Information" and "Scheduled Maintenance Sun Oct 4 / Mon Oct 5", Oct 4, 2026; "Aion 2 Will Launch On Time", "Launch Into Aion 2 Now!", "Thank you for 400.000 Active Players", "Customization Voucher to all players" and "Graphics Card Giveaway", Oct 5, 2026; "War For Atreia Twitch Drops", Oct 2, 2026; "Maintenance", Oct 6, 2026, and "Patch Notes", Oct 7, 2026; NC on Steam
• "Update on Sanctuary Raid", "Server Matchmaking Information (Asia)" and "Thank you for 300,000 Active Players!", Oct 5, 2026, and "Maintenance is over, welcome back! (NA, EU, LATAM servers)", Oct 7, 2026, NC
• NC's Aion 2 launches globally, peak concurrent users pass 400,000, Newspim (in Korean), Oct 6, 2026
• Aion 2 hits peak concurrent player count of 397,905 on Steam, Inven Global, Oct 6, 2026
• SteamDB, read Oct 7, 2026
• "Launch Rewards", "Jump Into Advanced Access Now!" and "Early Access Start Time", NC, Sep 30, 2026
• "8/18 (Tues) New Product Info: Special Quai Membership (Updated 9/28)", NC, updated Sep 28, 2026
• Linking accounts, Sep 29, 2026, and unlinking accounts, Sep 30, 2026, NC Support FAQ
• Aion 2 reaches #1 on Steam Top Sellers chart ahead of global launch, Sep 30, 2026, and NC's War for Atreia creator event, Sep 21, 2026, NC America press releases on Games Press
• Aion 2 on Steam and app details, Valve, retrieved Sep 30, 2026
• SteamDB, read Sep 30, 2026, and Aion 2 Playtest charts, SteamDB, read Sep 30, 2026
• Aion 2 playtest ends with mixed Steam reviews and a 73,761 player peak, MMOHuts, Sep 20, 2026
• Aion 2 Advanced Access live ticker and Aion 2 servers in Europe, mein-mmo (in German), Sep 30, 2026
• Aion 2 stress test played, mein-mmo (in German), Sep 18, 2026, and Aion 2 hands-on, S4G, Sep 24, 2026
• Aion 2 Advanced Access start time, Sportskeeda, Sep 29, 2026
• Aion 2 Q&A: DLSS 5, console and cross-play, Wccftech, Sep 7, 2026
• Interview: Aion 2's Merv Lee Kwai on the MMO genre, risks and what success looks like for NC's next MMO, MMORPG.com, Sep 28, 2026
• Aion 2 launching this year on PC, Apr 21, 2026, and NC's Aion 2 to launch globally this September on PC, Jun 5, 2026, NC press releases on Gamespress
• Gamescom 2026: Aion 2 makes its global debut October 5 following stress test and headstart, MassivelyOP, Aug 25, 2026
• NCSOFT Q1 2026, MassivelyOP, May 14, 2026
• NC promotes Aion 2 during gamescom Opening Night Live, GamesBeat, Aug 25, 2026
• Aion 2 SGF interview and Aion 2 preview, Jun 16, 2026, and Aion 2 release date and Founder's Packs, Jul 23, 2026, Hardcore Gamer
• NC first-quarter results, May 15, 2026, and second-quarter results, Aug 28, 2026, TheElec
• Gamescom 2026 Trailer, Aug 25, 2026, and Announce Trailer (4K Release), Apr 24, 2026, Aion 2 Official (videos)
• Aion 2 - Official Release Month Trailer | IGN Summer of Gaming, IGN, Jun 5, 2026 (video)
• Beyond the Abyss: Global Release Preview, Aug 7, 2026, Dungeon Live Gameplay Showcase, Sep 4, 2026, and Launch Scale Test | Let's Play with Stella, Sep 18, 2026, Aion 2 Official (videos)
• Aion 2 Before You Play: $15 Paywall, All Classes & Global Changes, CrusherXGaming, Aug 16, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2: Launch Scale Test Prep & 2nd Dev Stream Highlights!, OmniPower, Sep 7, 2026 (video)
• DON'T Pick the Wrong Server! Aion 2 Full List EU/NA/LATAM + Launch Guide, Society Of Gaming, Sep 29, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2: Do This BEFORE Global Launch (Full Prep Guide), EPIC PLK, Aug 19, 2026 (video)
• "New Attendance Event Announcement", NC, Sep 30, 2026