AION 2 launches worldwide as a free-to-play MMORPG

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AION 2 is now live worldwide as a free-to-play MMORPG on Steam and NCSOFT’s PURPLE platform. The commercial launch opened at 6:00 AM PDT, 15:00 CEST on October 5, 2026, following eight hours of maintenance that also ended the paid Advanced Access period tied to Founder’s Packs.

NCSOFT says the game passed 300,000 active users, then 400,000, within roughly an hour of launch. To mark the milestones, all players are getting Artisan’s Roasted Fogus (Bound) x15 for the 300,000 mark and Resurrection Spiritstone (Bound) x15 for 400,000.

The launch also brings a fresh server lineup. Each server is tied to one faction, Elyos or Asmodian, with paired servers used for cross-faction content like Spacetime Rifts and the Abyss. Europe, NA East, NA West, Latin America, and Asia all have launch server pairs, while the original Advanced Access servers remain open. Progress from Advanced Access carries over.

The maintenance window included several quality-of-life changes and fixes:

  • Character deletion now takes 24 hours instead of 168 hours, and the deletion requirement drops from Level 10 to Level 1.
  • The idle timer before being sent back to server select has been raised from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
  • In-game announcements now stay on screen for 10 seconds instead of 3.
  • Quest objects should be easier to interact with, with some no longer disappearing and others respawning faster.
  • Some bosses had their stats increased after being weaker than intended for five-player party content.
  • Fixes address Auto Move snapback during quests, a Level 45 Journal Duty issue, duplicate key setting entries, and a quest progression problem caused by closing the client mid-quest.

AION 2 is free to play, with an optional membership, a Daeva Pass, and cosmetics. NCSOFT also reminded players that buying Kinah or Quna from unauthorized third-party sellers violates the Terms of Service and can lead to account termination. The Advanced Access and War for Atreia Twitch Drops campaigns ended on October 4 at 11:59 PM PDT.

Further reading: Official AION 2 Steam launch news