Official AION 2 Steam header key art showing two elven Daeva characters facing each other with the AION 2 logo between them

AION 2 launched worldwide as a free-to-play PC game on October 5, 2026, at 1 p.m. UTC, on Steam and NCSoft's PURPLE launcher. It had been available in South Korea and Taiwan since November 2025. NCSoft hasn't announced a console version.

A big early access

Global early access opened on September 30 for Founder's Pack buyers. According to Inven Global, AION 2 reached #1 on Steam's global Top Sellers chart that day, ranked #1 in sales in 12 countries including the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil, and peaked at 171,530 concurrent players on Steam (SteamDB figures). Steam wishlists had passed 1.3 million before launch.

Founder's Packs

Pack Price
Founder's Pack $24.99
Deluxe $49.99
Ultimate $99.99

Each tier included five days of early access, a consumables chest and a title, with more cosmetics in the higher tiers. After an August announcement, all three tiers also include 30 days of membership, applied retroactively to packs already bought. Aion2Hub reports that the cosmetics in the Founder's Packs won't be sold separately in the global cash shop.

Membership: the $15 question

AION 2 has an optional membership at about $15 a month. According to NCSoft's business model notice, as summarized by Timesaver, it unlocks the Market and the Kina-Quna exchange, plus other gameplay benefits. No subscription is needed to enter the game, level or run content.

NCSoft says cash shop items are "purely aesthetic" and "do not affect gear progression or long-term power." Critics argue that tradeable crafted gear and converting Quna into Kina could still let money buy power indirectly.

Before launch: an open stress test

On September 17 and 18, NCSoft ran an open Launch Scale Test with no key or registration needed, through Steam or PURPLE, in two six-hour windows. Levels were capped at 37, purchases, the marketplace and trading were disabled, and all progress was wiped after the test.

Key details

  • Global launch: October 5, 2026 (early access from September 30)
  • Platform: PC (Steam, PURPLE)
  • Price: free-to-play; Founder's Packs from $24.99
  • Membership: about $15 a month, required for the Market and currency exchange

Sources

Vostrike Newsroom
Editorial team

Vostrike's editorial desk. Articles are researched from cited sources and checked by a human editor before publication. We don't put our own score on games we haven't played.