Aion 2 Tops 400,000 Concurrent Players as Payment Rules Draw Growing Backlash

A huge launch meets a worsening review score

Aion 2 reached 397,905 simultaneous players on Steam after its October 5, 2026 global launch, while developer NC reported more than 400,000 across Steam and its Purple platform. By October 16, however, roughly 59% of about 32,000 Steam reviews were positive, down from 73% of 8,834 reviews on October 6.

The attraction is easy to understand: a large fantasy world, flight, striking graphics and combat that many players enjoy. The frustration becomes clearer when players try to trade, collect dungeon rewards or move to another server. A membership costing $14.99 for 30 days applies to one server, while the Deva Pass, which supplies extra progression rewards, is sold for each character.

Those rules put a practical question at the center of the launch: how much must someone pay to keep enjoying the parts of the game that drew them in? Players can start free, complete quests and enter dungeons, yet important economic functions and opportunities to collect additional rewards sit behind separate purchases.

NC has responded with changes to cosmetics, server transfers and progression resources. It has also restricted thousands of accounts over policy violations and addressed fears about a rule allowing inactive characters to be deleted. Together, the launch figures and subsequent updates show a game attracting a substantial audience while facing pressure over how it charges and operates.

What the player numbers show

SteamDB recorded the Steam peak of 397,905 on October 5. NC's larger figure includes its launch platforms, but the company has not published a detailed breakdown between Steam and Purple. Concurrent players means people logged in at the same time, rather than everyone who has tried the game.

The Steam peak rose by 226,375 from the paid early access record of 171,530, an increase of about 132%, or roughly 2.3 times. Access changed substantially between those measurements: the five days beginning September 30 required a Founders Pack purchase, while the October 5 release opened the game to anyone for free.

Aion 2 also exceeded the Steam peak of another NC MMORPG, Throne and Liberty, which reached 336,300 on October 6, 2024. The difference was 61,605 simultaneous players, about 18%.

Later figures show how activity developed. The Steam peak over the preceding 24 hours was 392,300 as of October 11 and 292,931 as of October 16 at 10:06 a.m. The latter was about 26% below the launch record, while still representing hundreds of thousands of people playing together.

Sales charts were strong too. NC said Aion 2 ranked first on Steam's global Top Sellers chart during early access and in 15 countries. It also led Valve's weekly global sales chart for September 29 to October 6. On October 6, it topped categories described as Popular New Releases and Trending Free.

From regional debut to global service

Aion 2 first launched in South Korea and Taiwan in November 2025. Its global service now covers North America, South America, Europe and Japan, with eight supported languages, including English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. Steam and Purple players share the same global servers.

The detailed launch schedule placed the global opening at 10 p.m. Korean time on October 5, although another launch announcement described service as beginning October 6. The main milestones were:

• November 2025: Aion 2 debuted in South Korea and Taiwan.
• September 30, 2026: Five days of paid early access began for Founders Pack buyers.
• October 5: Free global service opened, and Steam concurrency reached 397,905.
• October 8: Two European servers were added.
• October 11: NC announced restrictions against 4,996 global accounts.
• October 14: Eligible early access accounts gained a free first server transfer, subject to restrictions.

NC also released a video about the development team's goals and production process to mark the global launch. For players, the more immediate developments were extra server capacity and changes affecting purchases and character progression.

Why players want to stay

Aion 2 returns to the conflict between the Elyos and Asmodians, with a story set roughly 200 years after the original game. Players choose a faction and class, explore the world, fight group bosses and take part in battles against other players.

Flight connects much of that experience. Players can travel along cliffs, collect resources in the air and move away from direct quest routes to find other activities. Unreal Engine 5 supplies the lighting and environmental detail that have drawn positive reactions.

Collection also feeds character growth. Taming creatures provides mounts, while completing collection goals and defeating certain monsters repeatedly can add permanent character statistics. Someone who spends time exploring can therefore make progress even without obtaining a rare piece of equipment.

Combat has received praise for smooth movement and combinations of skills. Other players find it repetitive or shallow, and early quests have been criticized as too simple. The interface is another recurring complaint, with multiple currencies, menus and shop screens making the game harder to navigate.

Global group content includes parties of five for Expedition and Transcendence activities and groups of 10 for Sanctuary raids. Heroic equipment was excluded at the start of Global Season 1. Those choices shape the version global players encounter, alongside the different payment rules.

What the membership actually buys

The Special Quai Membership costs $14.99 for 30 days and provides access to marketplace functions, currency exchange and remote storage. Free players can develop characters through quests and dungeons, but buying and selling through the player marketplace requires membership.

The currency exchange connects spending real money with buying power inside the game. Players purchase the premium currency Quina, exchange it for Kina held by other players, and then use Kina to buy equipment, materials and other goods. Prices and availability depend on the game's player economy.

A player who spends money can therefore obtain currency to purchase useful items from others. The transaction passes through an exchange and marketplace, rather than a shop directly selling the strongest equipment.

Membership applies to the server where it is purchased. Someone moving to join friends elsewhere needs another membership to receive those benefits there. The Deva Pass creates a separate cost for each character, making additional classes another spending decision.

South Korea also uses memberships tied to individual servers. Its 28 day Quairing Special Membership costs 25,000 won. The global complaints focus on the practical burden: a purchase remains attached to a particular place or character even when the same person continues playing on the same account.

Dungeon rewards bring a second spending dispute

Aether Energy controls whether players can open reward chests after completing certain dungeon activities. A player may finish a run but need enough energy to collect the reward. For someone repeatedly completing dungeons to improve equipment, the reward allowance determines how much useful progress those runs produce.

The global membership removed the dungeon entry bonuses associated with the Korean and Taiwanese model. Two paid battle passes, however, include energy items for additional reward claims. Natural energy regeneration covers roughly two to three runs a day.

Players criticizing the system describe a mismatch between enjoying the combat and being able to keep earning rewards from it. One negative Steam review focused on energy restrictions, scheduled content and random crafting outcomes had received 3,120 helpful votes.

NC increased the weekly purchase cap for Aether Energy bound to individual characters from four to 20 in the October 14 update. That expanded the amount available through that route while leaving energy as part of the progression system.

Earlier payment disputes had already prompted intervention. After the Korean and Taiwanese launch, producer Kim Nam-joon apologized in an emergency livestream roughly 15 hours after controversy erupted over consumables that directly increased combat power. NC removed those items and provided compensation across servers.

Reviews turn mixed as criticism spreads

Steam reviews changed quickly after global release. The game held a Mostly Positive rating on October 6, with 73% approval from 8,834 reviews. By October 9, approval was about 62% among nearly 20,000 reviews.

SteamDB's October 12 snapshot recorded 25,909 reviews: 15,285 positive and 10,624 negative, giving a positive share of 59%. By October 16, the review total was approximately 32,000, with approval still around 59% and the rating Mixed.

Japanese reviews were harsher. Around 41% of reviews written in Japanese were positive as of October 11, compared with roughly 60% across all languages at that point. Japan has its own official operations team, Japanese interface and full Japanese voice acting.

The most visible reviews also leaned negative. Among the 40 Steam reviews ranked most helpful on October 14, 34 were negative and six were positive. Several negative reviewers still described enjoyable exploration or combat after spending many hours playing.

Video coverage carried the same tension. ContentFlux recorded more than 23.3 million YouTube views during October 5 to 11, up from more than 16.7 million the previous week. The United States represented 31.3% of peak YouTube viewer share in its September 27 to October 12 sample.

ContentFlux's automated analysis of comments under Asmongold TV's sponsored October 7 video classified 39% as negative, 34% neutral and 27% positive. Under Rubius Z's video from the same day, the figures were 16% negative, 54% neutral and 30% positive. Monetization appeared among the recurring complaints, alongside praise for customization, graphics and exploration.

Character deletion rules and bots add pressure

Article 7 of NC's global operating policy allows character information to be deleted when an account has gone more than six months without a login and its paid service period has ended. The policy requires advance notice and says deleted characters and names cannot be restored.

Players objected because building a character can involve months of effort and spending, while taking a long break is common in an MMORPG. The same six month provision appears in the Korean and Taiwanese policies.

NC said it had never used that rule to delete Aion 2 characters, including on domestic servers, and had no plans to use it. The company described the clause as a measure for managing databases if character numbers became excessive.

Resource gathering has created another operational dispute. Players have complained that suspected bots, characters controlled by unauthorized automation, repeatedly collect materials needed for crafting. Others alleged that legitimate gathering was restricted despite completing a CAPTCHA, a check intended to distinguish people from automated programs.

NC announced on October 11 that it restricted 4,996 global accounts for violations including farming operations, unauthorized programs and cash transactions. Players who believe restrictions were mistaken were directed to customer support for review.

What NC has changed so far

Founders Pack purchases became an early test of how broadly benefits should apply. NC announced on October 3 that certain titles and cosmetics would become usable across characters and servers. Access rolled out through a dedicated store and patch changes described on October 6 and 7. The membership, supplies and cosmetic chests were excluded from that adjustment.

An October 9 update added 500 flight power to four wings received through quests. From October 14, the first server transfer per account became free for eligible early access servers. Transfers remained limited to the same region and faction, and extra character slots carried a separate cost.

The global version also disabled direct trading between players, routing item transactions through public marketplace listings. Players can still use listings to arrange transfers of value, leaving enforcement against automated farming an ongoing operational task.

Developers discussing the Korean service said a subsequent chapter would introduce distinct dungeon difficulty tiers. They also described Abyss Outlands as planned content for 100 players starting under equal conditions. No release dates for those features were given, and class change vouchers were not planned for the time being.

Aion 2's immediate challenge is concrete: preserve the flight, exploration and combat that keep people playing while making purchases, reward limits and account benefits easier to accept. The changes already made address parts of that experience, while membership tied to servers and passes tied to characters remain central complaints.

Key Points

• Aion 2 peaked at 397,905 concurrent Steam players on October 5; NC reported more than 400,000 across its launch platforms.
• The Steam launch peak was about 2.3 times the paid early access peak of 171,530.
• A $14.99 membership lasts 30 days and applies to one server, while the Deva Pass is purchased for each character.
• Aether Energy limits dungeon reward claims, with additional energy available through paid passes and other routes.
• Steam approval fell from 73% on October 6 to roughly 59% by October 16.
• NC expanded some cosmetic benefits, offered eligible accounts a free first transfer and restricted 4,996 accounts for policy violations.
• NC said it has never deleted Aion 2 characters under its six month inactivity rule and has no plans to do so.