AION 2 passed 400,000 concurrent players on Steam after its global launch, topping the platform's Top Sellers, Popular New Releases and Trending Free charts at the same time. Inven Global spoke with Merv Lee Kwai, Co-CEO of NC America and Executive Producer of AION 2, about the launch, Western feedback and how NC plans to pace content for global players.
NC (formerly NCSOFT) launched AION 2 for free on Steam and PURPLE, its own PC platform, on October 5th, following an Early Access period that began on September 30th. According to NC, the game hit number one on Steam's global top sellers chart in more than ten regions during Early Access. The global version runs on servers in North America, South America, Europe and Japan, and is localised in eight languages.
Lee Kwai joined NC America in February as Vice President of Operations to lead the AION 2 global launch. He previously led third-party MMO publishing at Amazon Games, where he worked on Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty, an NC-developed title, and earlier served as Executive Producer on ArcheAge at Trion Worlds. AION 2 is the first of several NC titles headed West, with Cinder City, Limit Zero Breakers and Time Takers also on the company's slate.
The original AION launched in the West 17 years ago. Its sequel is set in a world 36 times larger than the first game's, with free flight across the open world as its signature feature.
Celebrating the launch
Congratulations on passing 400,000 concurrent players on Steam and topping Top Sellers, Popular New Releases and Trending Free at the same time. What was the mood like on the team when those numbers came in?
Lee Kwai: From a very early stage we knew AION 2 was a great game, but it's one thing to know it and another to have it confirmed. We're humbled by the incredible response and are so grateful that our players have chosen to spend their time with us. We're committed to delivering both great content and consistent live service.
Which moment from launch week stood out to you most, whether a milestone, a player story or something from the community?
Lee Kwai: There are so many standout moments for me it's hard to pick a favourite, but I'd have to say it's the thrill of watching the game become available to the global audience simultaneously and watching all of our players rush to create their characters. AION 2 did an exceptional job at standing up to the hundreds of thousands of players logging in simultaneously, and it's been very memorable to see all the interesting character customisation choices.
You've said a "launch" is only part of how NC measures success. Looking ahead six months, what would a great outcome look like for AION 2?
Lee Kwai: AION is an enduring, iconic franchise and MMOs are meant to be operated for a long time. We need to consistently meet the needs of our players, produce great content, and keep our audience coming back for years to come. In six months, I expect our players will be tackling a new season's worth of content and living their best life in Atreia!
The road to the West
NC started gathering feedback from Western players back in March, through developer videos, a reveal roadmap and pricing changes. What was the most valuable thing you learned from that process?
Lee Kwai: Our players are a driving force behind the way we make adjustments to the game. Creating content like you mention (direct developer videos, content roadmaps, the Launch Scale Test (LST) and Early Access in particular) are great ways for us to hear initial thoughts from our community, and those comments give us an opportunity to make adjustments before we release it. These processes gave us valuable opportunities to better understand the gap between our intentions as developers and players' expectations, while also reassessing the direction of the game. People care deeply about AION 2 and we want to live up to their expectations.
What changes did Western feedback lead to that players might not realise came from them?
Lee Kwai: I wouldn't classify any changes as catering to a specific region because we intend to serve all of our customers from around the globe. Players from all regions express their opinions, feedback and expectations, and these ideas and wants are a vital, driving force behind how we make changes to the game both in development and when publishing it.
If I had to pick one thing, it would be something we didn't do: we didn't make changes to the freedom of expression players can enjoy when they're customising their character's visuals. We decided to preserve AION's distinctive artistic vision rather than conform to any one set of standards, while ensuring players have the freedom to customise their characters to suit their personal tastes. We believe that respecting diverse perspectives is just as important as preserving what makes AION unique and giving players the freedom to make their own choices.
Strong early demand meant opening extra servers after launch. Which regions or communities surprised you with how quickly they embraced the game?
Lee Kwai: This goes back to what I was saying earlier about the overwhelming response. The fact that we had to continuously open servers to handl
e the demand speaks for itself. I'm super grateful for the support given by our Founders who showed up on day one and continue to stick with us!
Flight, the world and the game itself
Flight is AION 2's signature experience. What was the hardest part of building combat and traversal in full 3D, and what are you most proud of?
Lee Kwai: The biggest challenge was implementing free-flight movement and combat in an MMORPG while ensuring responsive controls, smooth performance, and high-quality visuals. With so many players active at once, ensuring smooth, responsive controls was essential, especially when seamlessly transitioning between ground movement and combat, flight, and aerial combat in real time.
Free flight also posed a major challenge for world optimisation. In most games, developers can optimise performance by guiding players' movement and controlling what they see. In AION 2, however, players can move freely in any direction and view the world from any angle, making conventional optimisation techniques much more difficult to apply.
Despite these challenges, AION 2 has received positive feedback for its fluid flight controls, stable performance, and high-quality visuals. We're especially proud to have delivered a free-flight experience that maintains both high visual quality and responsive controls, despite the technical challenges inherent to the MMORPG genre.
The world is 36 times larger than the original AION's. How did you approach filling that much space so it feels worth exploring?
Lee Kwai: As we expanded the world, our priority was not simply to make it larger, but to create a world that naturally draws players in and encourages them to explore. However, while making exploration rewarding was important, we also had to be careful not to overemphasise it to the point where it felt like a chore. In an MMORPG with no definitive ending, even content that developers never intended players to repeat can end up feeling like an obligation, so we had to strike a careful balance.
Rather than making exploration feel like a requirement, we wanted players to discover different places naturally as they played, with the freedom to stumble upon new areas whenever their curiosity led them off the beaten path.
To encourage exploration, we designed distinctive terrain and landmarks that stand out from a distance, giving each region its own visual identity and atmosphere. We also created a world that players can explore on the ground, in the sky, and even underwater, allowing them to discover new experiences in familiar areas depending on their approach and point of view. The world is also filled with carefully crafted locations, from the underwater depths of Clione Lake to architectural spaces where sunlight filters through in striking ways, each thoughtfully brought to life by our art team.
For longtime AION fans returning after 17 years, what do you hope feels familiar, and what do you hope surprises them?
Lee Kwai: Rather than simply re-creating the original AION, we wanted to build on what made it so beloved while delivering the MMORPG experience that today's players expect and enjoy. We wanted longtime fans to feel at home in Atreia, from the conflict between the Elyos and Asmodians to the thrill of spreading their wings and taking flight for the first time. At the same time, we aimed to surprise them with a world 36 times larger than the original, over 200 character customisation options, and greater freedom in exploration and combat.
We also wanted to rethink how players engage with the game. MMORPGs need to offer a steady stream of content, but too much can leave players feeling like they're constantly working through a checklist of chores. Finding the right balance between leaving players wanting more and overwhelming them with too many things to do was one of our key challenges.
Rather than simply offering more content, we focused on giving players the freedom to choose what to engage with based on their preferences and circumstances, while making sure they could enjoy a genuine sense of progression and accomp
lishment along the way. We hope AION 2 will let longtime fans recapture the magic of the original while experiencing meaningful advancements shaped by years of evolution in the MMORPG genre.
Community and creators
The War for Atreia creator event runs much longer than past launch events. Why invest so heavily in creators, and how has the faction rivalry played out so far?
Lee Kwai: Having watched a huge amount of the War for Atreia, I can safely say I'm glad we decided to go with a longer event. So many great memories were created by our captains and their teams. AION 2 is a deep game with many systems, and what better way to showcase it than with heated rivalries!
In Korea and Taiwan, frequent developer broadcasts built a strong relationship with players. How are you bringing that same openness to the global community?
Lee Kwai: I admire the approach the Korean team has taken to consistently putting themselves in front of our players. It's something I admired even before I joined to support AION 2! Our team has the same mindset, and I encourage you and your audience to tune into our weekly livestreams with Stella, Void, and Gator!
Building trust for the long run
NC has said the global store will focus on cosmetic items. How do you plan to keep players confident that the game stays fair as new content and items arrive?
Lee Kwai: We've talked about the stuff we sell before, during, and now after the release of the game. It's important to us that players can try AION 2 and see if what we offer is right for them. We intend to stay as consistent as possible and demonstrate our consistency with our actions. Our recent update brought some awesome Halloween cosmetics that are incredibly popular.
Every launch gets a wide range of player feedback. What have players told you so far that you're most excited to act on?
Lee Kwai: We act quickly and decisively, and that's a hallmark of the way we operate our live game. At launch, our Founders wanted their Early Access cosmetics to be account-wide and not character-specific, so we made that change. Additionally, some players wanted to swap to a different server to play with their friends, so we introduced the transfer service right away and allowed our players to transfer for free. We're committed to actioning these types of topics as they arise.
The global servers have a wealth of content already proven in Korea. How are you planning to pace it so players have time to enjoy what they've earned?
Lee Kwai: We need to ensure that we aren't releasing content too quickly, otherwise it may push players to progress too soon. Similarly, we don't want them waiting too long for new content. Our goal is to ensure there's always something for players to look forward to and determine the right timing for updates, giving players enough time to
enjoy the existing content while keeping them engaged with new challenges. We will analyse the way global players progress and pick the right moment, but the timeline will follow the Korean version closely.
Looking ahead
What should players be most excited about in AION 2's first year?
Lee Kwai: This may be one of the hardest questions to answer, as every player has different expectations, enjoys different aspects of the game, and has a different amount of time to devote to it. Some players look forward to fierce competition and challenging content, while others enjoy adventuring with friends or exploring the world at their own pace. With such diverse playstyles and expectations, it's difficult to single out one thing that everyone should look forward to most.
We've worked hard to create a balanced mix of content and gameplay experiences that allows players with different preferences to find their own ways to enjoy the game. Of course, only time will tell whether what we've prepared lives up to everyone's expectations. Moving forward, we'll continue to listen to player feedback and observe how they engage with the game, striving to meet their diverse expectations as best we can.
NC America plans to bring more NC games and third-party titles West. How does AION 2's launch shape that vision?
Lee Kwai: We have a full slate of games we're proud to bring to the global audience over the coming years. AION 2 is the first of many and will always mark a special moment for me where all our teams around the globe rallied to deliver a great, enduring experience. We set the bar high for the games that come next!
What message would you like to share with players who are just discovering Atreia now?
Lee Kwai: We hope you love AION 2 as much as we do. Our teams put an incredible amount of care into the world of Atreia and we're just getting started. Thanks for joining us and see you in the skies!
