Aion 2 went free-to-play worldwide on October 5 and peaked at 397,905 concurrent players on Steam that day. A few days later, the talk has moved from login queues to the paid membership and whether the MMO can keep its audience.
A strong start with crowded servers
The global version is out on Steam and NC's own PURPLE launcher. Founder's Pack buyers got in five days early, and the free launch more than doubled the player peak from that head start. NC says the total passed 400,000 concurrent players once PURPLE is included.
That rush brought long queues, and NC opened new servers several times on launch day, mostly in Europe.
Monetization is the main complaint
Steam reviews have swung back and forth since early access opened, and most of the criticism is about money. Aion 2 is free to play, but the Market, the currency exchange, and trading with other players all sit behind the Special Quai Membership at $14.99 (12.75 Euro) for 30 days. A direct trade only works if both players have it.
The membership also only covers the server it was bought on. Elyos and Asmodians never share a server, so anyone who wants to play both factions or join friends elsewhere has to pay twice. The Daeva Pass, the game's battle pass, is sold separately for each character on top of that.
What this means for PvP
NC promises that shop purchases don't affect gear progression. But players can buy the premium currency Quna with real money and trade it for other players' Kina, which is what gets spent on the Market. Money can still buy a stronger character, just with other players in between.
That hurts most in the Abyss, the open-world zone where Elyos and Asmodians fight each other and gear counts. Players who mostly run dungeons with friends will feel this far less than those who want to compete in faction PvP.
A second chance after a rough start in Korea
Players in Korea and Taiwan have Aion 2 since November 19, 2025, and NC has admitted that launch wasn't smooth either. In August, co CEO Park Byung-moo told investors that player numbers in both regions had grown ahead of the global launch. He credited the team's communication with players and called Aion 2 "a long-run title."
The Korean servers are the best argument for cautious optimism. If NC answers the membership complaints as quickly as it did there, Aion 2 has a fair chance to last in the West. The next step comes in mid-October, when NC opens free server transfers within the same faction.
