The upcoming PvE MMORPG Aion 2 will soon be presented in a livestream. Prior to that, the CFO and his Co-CEO have already revealed some details.
What kind of MMORPG is this? Aion 2 is an upcoming MMORPG from NCsoft, intended to be the successor to the popular Aion, which first appeared in Europe in 2009. Unlike its predecessor, part 2 focuses on PvE.
For NCsoft, Aion 2 is a prestige project with high expectations. Currently, about 300 employees are working on the MMORPG. The beautiful Unreal Engine 5 serves as the engine. In the context of their new financial report, the heads of the MMORPG spoke with ThisisGame.com and revealed new details.
Here you can see the first teaser for Aion 2:
More Success than Throne and Liberty
How big is Aion 2 expected to be? For NCsoft, Aion 2 is arguably the most important project in the near future. The MMORPG is expected to be larger than Throne and Liberty and could generate revenue between 192 million euros and 224 million euros. These are the most conservative estimates by NCsoft for the MMORPG.
The CFO Hong Won-jun states that the revenue outlook for Aion 2 is “much more optimistic than for Throne and Liberty,” and he believes that they can generate more than the cautious forecasts. NCsoft would only earn licensing fees from Amazon’s revenue, so the self-marketed Aion 2 could also yield more profit with the same revenue.
The MMORPG is expected to earn money in a manner similar to Throne and Liberty. There will likely be a shop for microtransactions. However, the developers are already announcing that there will be pay-to-win elements. These are supposed to be less than in T&L or other Lineage games.
Co-CEO Park Byung-moo says: “Of course, it’s not that there are no P2W elements at all, but since it targets the global market, it’s not a game like the Lineage-like game one normally thinks of.” Aion 2 is, like Throne and Liberty, a related one of the Lineage games, although the MMORPG is based on its own brand.
New Features for Aion 2
What features is the MMORPG expected to have? CFO Hong Won-jun and Co-CEO Park Byung-moo have reiterated the focus on PvE. Raids are expected to play a significant role. Aion 2 is supposed to offer “plenty of” raids, as well as mini-games and other PvE play modes. This already sounds very much like a theme park MMORPG.
While the MMORPG is set to be unveiled in a livestream on May 29, the first game test is expected to start in June. However, it is still unclear whether players from the West will be able to participate.
Aion 2 is expected to retain the key elements of its predecessor. Thus, the battles between the factions that existed in Aion will play a role again, even if the focus is not on PvP.
When will Aion 2 be released? The heads revealed in an interview that the release for Korea and Taiwan is planned for this November. The release for the West is planned for the middle of next year. The developers are likely orienting themselves on Throne and Liberty and want to improve the MMORPG in Asia first before offering it in the West.
So far, there is only limited information about the gameplay of Aion 2. The short teaser does not provide a real insight into the MMORPG yet. However, it can be assumed that Aion 2 will be a PvE MMORPG with theme park elements that does not want to strongly orient itself on Throne and Liberty and pays attention to its template. You can read about how high the expectations are for the prestige project here: The next big MMORPG for PvE fans takes players back to the good old days, pleading: “Please don’t destroy my memories”
