NC has launched AION 2, its open-world MMORPG, to a global audience for free on Steam and its own PC platform, PURPLE.
According to a release, the game went live worldwide on October 5th, following an Early Access period that began on September 30th. An MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) is a genre in which large numbers of players share the same persistent online world. AION 2 is the sequel to AION, which arrived on PC 17 years ago.
NC, formerly known as NCSOFT, is the developer and publisher behind Lineage, Blade & Soul and Guild Wars as well as the AION series. The company said that during Early Access, AION 2 took the number one spot on Steam's global top sellers chart in more than 10 regions.
How NC prepared AION 2 for Western players
NC began reaching out to Western players in March to hear their concerns and gather feedback ahead of the global version. As part of that process, it posted developer-led videos introducing the team, shared a roadmap of upcoming reveals and adjusted the game's pricing to better match what Western players expected. NC has also published a behind-the-scenes documentary on YouTube, which it said was made to capture the development team's core hopes and goals for the game.
The game was shown at Summer Game Fest Play Days in June and at Gamescom in August. Players then got public access through a Launch Scale Test in mid-September, before Early Access opened on September 30th. NC ran the build-up to launch as the War For Atreia campaign, named after the game's world.
AION 2 was built specifically for PC, with local servers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia (Japan). It is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Russian. The game is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and 16+ by Pan European Game Information (PEGI).
Flight, combat and a much bigger world
AION 2 is built around freedom of movement and flight, with aerial combat and traversal at the heart of the game. NC described the flying as a 'best-in-class' experience. Combat is fast-paced and relies on precision, timing and positioning, though players can still use traditional tab-targeting (where attacks are directed by selecting a target rather than aiming manually).
For player versus environment (PvE) content, the game offers solo and five-player dungeons as well as ten-player raids. Player versus player (PvP) modes range from 1v1 and 4v4 arenas up to large cross-server Realm-vs-Realm (RvR) battles. The faction-based Abyss from the original AION is also making a return.
The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, which NC said it heavily modified for character customisation and multiplayer. According to the company, the world of AION 2 is 36 times larger than the original game's. Players can choose from eight classes and more than 200 customisation options when creating a character.
A new story 200 years on
AION 2 is set 200 years after the conflict of the first game. With the Tower of Eternity destroyed, the Elyos and Asmodian factions must find their way through a shattered universe while facing a newly empowered Balaur faction.
The global release is being handled by NC America, the company's Western publishing division and global base, which has an office in Irvine, California. It oversees live production and publishing for select NC titles in North America, South America, Europe and Oceania. According to the release, NC America plans to expand its portfolio of NC-developed games and bring original third-party titles to the global market in the future.
