AION 2 Early Access Opens on Steam and PURPLE Ahead of October 5 Free Launch

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AION 2 is now in Early Access on Steam and NC America’s PURPLE platform, with servers opening on September 30, 2026. The free-to-play MMORPG also climbed to the top of Steam’s Global Top Sellers chart on launch day, driven by paid Founder’s Pack purchases rather than box sales.

Early Access is available through three Founder’s Pack tiers: Standard for $24.99, Deluxe for $49.99, and Ultimate for $99.99. Each includes 30 days of membership, with higher tiers adding cosmetics, wings, starter chests, and other extras. Progress made during Early Access will carry into the full free-to-play launch on October 5 at 6:00 AM PDT.

This isn’t another limited test. NC says the live Early Access build includes the full feature set, including wardrobe and transmog, battlegrounds, dimensional rifts, high-level content, marketplace activity, and the cash shop. The earlier Launch Scale Test did not carry progress forward.

The launch was pushed back slightly on the morning of September 30 while client decryption finished, moving server opening from 6:00 AM PDT to 6:30 AM PDT. Early Access runs until October 4 at 10:00 PM PDT, followed by maintenance before the free launch.

NC says AION 2 also reached number one on Steam Top Sellers lists in Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and Thailand, with top-10 placements in more than 20 countries. Public Steam data showed the game peaking at around 171,000 concurrent players on launch day.

Queues have already led NC to add more Elyos and Asmodian servers in Europe. Server transfers within the same faction are planned to begin October 14, while instanced content such as dungeons is already cross-server.

AION 2 will be free to play with optional membership, a Battle Pass, and cosmetics. Steam and PURPLE players share the same servers across supported regions, including North America, South America, Europe, and Japan. NC has also confirmed that progress from the Korea and Taiwan versions will not carry over.

Further reading: Official AION 2 Steam news