AION 2 is out. The global version launched on 5 October 2026 at 15:00 CEST and is free for everyone. Founder’s Pack owners got into the game five days earlier, on 30 September 2026.
AION 2 is an MMORPG from NCSOFT and a direct sequel to AION from 2009. This article is about the sequel, not the original game. In Korea and Taiwan, AION 2 has been live since 19 November 2025. The global version runs on Windows PC only, through Steam and the PURPLE launcher (NCSOFT’s own game client, similar to Steam). There’s no PS5 or Xbox version.
The key facts in five points
- 5 October 2026: full free-to-play launch for everyone, at 6:00 AM PDT / 15:00 CEST. 30 September 2026: early access for Founder’s Pack owners (Standard $24.99 / Deluxe $49.99 / Ultimate $99.99; all three gave the same five-day head start and differed only in cosmetics). Pack sales ended on 5 October 2026.
- The game runs on Windows PC only (Steam + PURPLE). The global version has no console or mobile release.
- In Korea and Taiwan, AION 2 has been running since November 2025, which is why you see both 2025 and 2026 mentioned for the game.
- NCSOFT publishes it directly (through NC America). The original AION was published in Europe in 2009 by Codemasters, and Gameforge only took it over on 28 February 2012. Neither of them has anything to do with AION 2.
- The game is free-to-play. There’s also an optional Special Quai Membership for $14.99 per 30 days that unlocks the auction house, the currency exchange and other perks such as Remote Storage. You can play without it.
When did AION 2 launch globally?
AION 2 launched globally on 5 October 2026 at 6:00 AM PDT / 15:00 CEST and has been a free download ever since. Shortly before the servers opened, NCSOFT confirmed that the launch would go ahead on time. Founder’s Pack owners had already been playing since 30 September 2026.
Early access started an hour later than planned. The original schedule was 30 September at 6:00 AM PDT (13:00 UTC, which is 15:00 CEST). NCSOFT first delayed the opening by 30 minutes to 6:30 AM PDT (13:30 UTC), then by another 30 minutes. The servers opened at 7:00 AM PDT / 16:00 CEST. For the wait, NCSOFT announced a gift of 10 Resurrection Stones, and players stuck in long queues got an Appearance Change Voucher.
Early access ended with maintenance that began on 4 October at 22:00 PDT / 5 October at 07:00 CEST and was scheduled for 8 hours. The full launch followed straight after it. Early access wasn’t a beta or a test phase: progress made in those five days carried over. Later on launch day, NCSOFT thanked players for 400,000 active players.
NCSOFT arrived at these dates step by step, which explains why so many different dates are floating around online:
| When | What was announced |
|---|---|
| 21–22 April 2026 | NC America confirms a PC release in 2026 for the first time (NC Newsroom press release) |
| 5 June 2026 | The Launch Reveal Trailer at Summer Game Fest narrows the window to September 2026 (covered by IGN, Eurogamer, Massively OP) |
| July 2026 | The Steam page and the start of Founder’s Pack sales reveal the exact dates |
| 30 September 2026 | Early access (Founder’s Pack only). Servers opened at 7:00 AM PDT / 16:00 CEST after two 30-minute delays |
| 5 October 2026 | Full launch, free for everyone, on time at 6:00 AM PDT / 15:00 CEST. Founder’s Pack sales ended at 8:00 AM PDT / 17:00 CEST |
The “Release Date” field on the game’s Steam page shows 5 Oct, 2026. The unofficial speculation about an earlier September date that circulated in the spring didn’t pan out.
European release and EU servers
Europe is one of the server regions of the global version. NCSOFT’s official server lists cover Europe, NA East, NA West, Latin America and Asia. NCSOFT hasn’t named specific data center cities. NCSOFT also handles Europe itself, without a local partner. Our article on who is behind AION 2 sums up the background. Whether a game booster is worth it on the European server and when it helps with ping is covered in our LagoFast for AION 2 guide.
For many players, another detail matters just as much: which languages the game supports. The game’s interface and subtitles come in eight languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish (Spain)
- Japanese
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Russian
- Korean
English and German are both on the list. Voice-over is available in English, Japanese and Korean. If your language isn’t one of the eight, you’ll have to play in one of them, and that’s also the language you’ll need for quests, skill descriptions and coordinating with your group. How the original AION and AION 2 differ is covered in our comparison AION Classic vs AION 2.
Where and how to get AION 2: Steam vs the PURPLE launcher
There are two official channels and only two: Steam (app ID 3393110) and the PURPLE launcher, which is NCSOFT’s own game client. The game has been a free download on both since 5 October 2026. The three Founder’s Packs were on sale through both channels from 22 July until 5 October 2026 (8:00 AM PDT / 17:00 CEST) and can no longer be bought.
You’ll find a detailed breakdown of what each pack contained, plus the upgrade and refund rules, in our article on Early Access and Founder’s Packs.
What about the pre-registration and Steam wishlist rewards? NCSOFT extended them to every player who creates an account and logs in before maintenance begins on 1 December 2026 (Pacific time; in Europe that’s the morning of 2 December). They arrive automatically by in-game mail:
- Advance: Pet Chest: the pet Pagati plus one more pet of your choice (Papis, Silver Blade Rotan, Konutin Worker or Black Smoke Murute).
- Advance: Wishlist Chest: 10 Resurrection Spiritstones plus potions and scrolls.
Which platforms? (And why not PS5/Xbox)
The global version of AION 2 runs only on Windows PC, through Steam and PURPLE. There’s no PS5 or Xbox version and no mobile client for the West: mobile exists exclusively for the Korean and Taiwanese version. NCSOFT’s Launch FAQ says official support covers only Steam and PURPLE on Windows PC.
The full platform breakdown, including what NCSOFT has said about consoles, is in our article on which platforms AION 2 runs on. You can check whether the game runs on your PC in our overview of the system requirements.
How much does AION 2 cost and is it F2P?
The game is free-to-play: you download it for free and you can play it for free. NCSOFT’s official notice on the business model from 8 July 2026 and the Launch FAQ both confirm this. At the same time, there’s an optional Special Quai Membership for $14.99 per 30 days. You buy it in the game and it unlocks the Market (auction house), the exchange between the Kina and Quna currencies, and other perks such as Remote Storage. What isn’t true is the claim that AION 2 is a subscription game: you can play without paying. You’ll find limited AION 2 merch in the GamersTogether shop.
Don’t be misled by the USD 24.99 price that shows up next to AION 2 in search results either: that was never the price of the game, it was the price of the Standard Founder’s Pack, which went off sale on 5 October 2026. The “no loot boxes” promise comes from a developer video from 25 June 2026, not from the July notice, which doesn’t mention random mechanics at all. You’ll find the full breakdown of what you pay for in AION 2 in our article on price, the free-to-play model and the cash shop.
Do you still need the Taiwan server?
Before the global launch, some players got into AION 2 via the Taiwanese server using connection optimizers such as ExitLag or GearUP Booster. It was an unofficial route: the server is region-locked and you’re putting your account at risk. With the global version live, there’s one more reason to skip it: progress from the Taiwanese or Korean version doesn’t carry over to the global one. How the route worked and what the risks are is covered in our guide on how to play AION 2 on the Taiwan server, and you’ll find our impressions from playing in first impressions from the Taiwan server.
What’s confirmed and what isn’t
| Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
|---|---|
| Both dates happened as announced: early access on 30 September, full launch on 5 October 2026 | Specific data center cities for the EU region |
| Platforms: Windows PC only (Steam + PURPLE) | Whether and when further languages will be added |
| The free-to-play model and an optional membership for $14.99 per 30 days, including its list of benefits | Whether and when the level cap will rise above 45 |
| Prices and contents of all three Founder’s Packs; sales ended on 5 October 2026 | Whether and when the Brawler will come to the global version |
| 8 interface languages, including English and German | The new date for Sanctuary Raid: Ludra, which NCSOFT temporarily removed at the full launch and promised to announce by 16 October |
| Eight classes and a level cap of 45 in the global version; no Brawler | Which class balance the global version runs on (NCSOFT hasn’t published launch patch notes on classes) |
One more note on the classes, since they’re the most common source of confusion: the global version launched with eight classes: Templar, Gladiator, Assassin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Spiritmaster, Cleric and Chanter. The ninth class, Brawler, arrived in the Korean and Taiwanese version with the Chapter 1 update on 1 July 2026. It isn’t in the global version, and NCSOFT hasn’t announced whether or when it will be added. An overview of the roles and differences between classes is in our article on all AION 2 classes and a tier list, and we track planned updates in the AION 2 roadmap.
Ping spikes in AION 2? Code MAGIC takes 62% off LagoFast.
LagoFast is a game booster that optimises the route to the game server. After registering you get 4 hours free, so you can check whether it helps on your server before paying – and the code MAGIC gets you 62% off your first order. Step by step in our LagoFast guide, or try it with the discount.This is an affiliate link. If you buy through it, GamersTogether earns a commission. It doesn’t affect your price or what we write here.
Playing AION 2 on the global servers? Questions, legion recruitment and event timers run on the GamersTogether community Discord, a Czech and Slovak community with its own AION 2 channel.
FAQ
The global version, including European servers, launched on 5 October 2026 at 15:00 CEST and is free. Founder’s Pack owners got in five days earlier, on 30 September 2026. Europe has its own servers alongside the NA East, NA West, Latin America and Asia regions. NCSOFT hasn’t announced specific data center cities.
The full launch went ahead on time on 5 October 2026 at 6:00 AM PDT / 15:00 CEST. Early access on 30 September opened at 7:00 AM PDT / 16:00 CEST, an hour later than originally scheduled, after NCSOFT delayed the start twice by 30 minutes. Steam lists 5 Oct, 2026 as the release date.
Yes, but only in Korea and Taiwan, where the game has been running since 19 November 2025. The global version for Europe and the Americas launched on 5 October 2026. So if you come across articles from 2025, they describe the Asian version, which is ahead of the global one: the global version has a level cap of 45 and no Brawler.
Yes, AION 2 is free-to-play. Downloading and playing are free, and monetization runs through cosmetics, a battle pass and membership. The optional membership for $14.99 per 30 days unlocks the auction house and the currency exchange, but it doesn’t make the game paid. The Founder’s Pack was voluntary too: it paid for a five-day head start and cosmetics, not for access to the game, and it went off sale on 5 October 2026.
The global version runs only on Windows PC, through Steam and the PURPLE launcher. There’s no PS5 or Xbox version, and NCSOFT’s Launch FAQ says official support covers only Steam and PURPLE on Windows PC. A mobile client exists, but only for the Korean and Taiwanese version of the game.
Yes. The global version has been live since 5 October 2026 and is a free download on Steam and in the PURPLE launcher. You no longer need the unofficial route via the Taiwanese server, and progress from the Taiwanese or Korean version doesn’t carry over to the global one. How that route worked and what the risks are is covered in a separate article.
Older community discussions about the release date on Reddit recycle spring speculation that started before NCSOFT announced the date. It didn’t pan out. The dates from official sources held: early access on 30 September 2026, full launch on 5 October 2026. With community threads, always check whether they’re describing the Korean version.
No. AION 2 is published directly by NCSOFT (through NC America), without a local partner. The original AION was published in Europe in 2009 by Codemasters, and Gameforge only took it over on 28 February 2012. Neither of these companies has anything to do with the sequel. We cover the differences between the two games in a separate comparison.
AION 2 has been out since 5 October 2026, but the details around a freshly launched game keep changing, so we keep this page updated. You’ll find more articles on the topic in our AION 2 guides section. Information verified as of 7 October 2026.