On September 30, 2026, the Early Access of the global version of Aion 2 will start, followed by the final launch for everyone on October 5. MeinMMO reveals what kind of MMORPG the successor to Aion is and who may have a lot of fun in Atreia.
What kind of MMORPG is Aion 2? Anyone who has been waiting for a more classic, large theme park MMORPG in the style of World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV should definitely take a look at Aion 2. The successor to Aion provides many of the elements that fans of online role-playing games of this kind enjoy:
- a leveling phase in which you complete numerous quests in the large game world, advance the main story, and visit one or another dungeon
- a PvE endgame with dungeons, world bosses, and raids, but also with content for fans of challenging solo challenges
- a selection of 8 different classes and the Holy Trinity in group play consisting of tank, healer, and damage dealer
- a variety of side activities, mini-games, and events
- a crafting system that provides you with the best equipment from Aion 2
- optional PvP content in the form of arenas, battlegrounds, and faction fights in the Abyss
Aion 2 thus appeals significantly more to PvE fans than, for example, Throne and Liberty from 2024 with its PvP guild conflicts in the open world. At the same time, it offers the “massively” player experience, which cannot be found in the various MMO Lite of the past and coming months. Below, we take a closer look at the potential strengths and weaknesses of Aion 2.
The strengths of Aion 2
What does Aion 2 do well? One can certainly argue about the Unreal Engine look and the Asian style of Aion 2. However, in Korea, the technology of the MMORPG makes a good impression. The regions are varied and colorful, their verticality is impressive, and the performance is also on point. It is fun to run, ride, swim, or fly through the world of Atreia.
Equally enjoyable is the dive into battles. Aion 2 relies on a mix of action and tab-target combat, promising full control in every role (whether tank, healer, or damage dealer) while also bringing a certain dynamism. Aion 2 thus positions itself exactly between the chairs of a World of Warcraft (classic tab-target combat) and a Black Desert (combo-heavy action).
Furthermore, Aion 2 boasts enormous scope. Even the release version throws you into a huge world full of content. Thanks to the lead of the Korean version, the next content updates are also ready to go. Even hardcore players shouldn’t get bored quickly in Atreia.
Last but not least, Aion 2 benefits from the popularity of its predecessor. Some players connect nostalgic memories with the first part and are likely to be pleased about the return to familiar places and the two factions Asmodians and Elyos. And thanks to the free-to-play model, everyone can easily take a look and take a chance.
The weaknesses of Aion 2
What might put you off in Aion 2? Aion 2 comes from the Korean publisher and developer NCSoft and thus almost inevitably brings diverse peculiarities that many Western MMORPG fans may bounce off.
This starts with the previously mentioned Unreal Engine look, which can quickly come across as generic, and the characters heavily relying on supermodels and occasionally revealing, sometimes eccentric outfits. This is something you have to like or tolerate if you want to have fun with Aion 2. There is no censorship for the West.
Typical for Asian games is also the payment model of Aion 2. You can expect a free-to-play system that relies on multiple pillars: selling founder packages, optional subscriptions, battle pass, in-game shop, and real-money currency that allows you to pay in the auction house via currency exchange. Investments in the auction house are again important for character progression, which largely relies on crafting and equipment upgrades.
All of this combined can dampen the fun of the game. Especially through the resulting pay-to-win elements, the negative influence of bots, and the significant importance of subscriptions, which makes them practically mandatory for hardcore players. You can find all details here:
Aion 2 is set to be released in the West only for PC, but the MMORPG is known to be available on mobile devices in its home market. No worries: There are no autoplay functions in Aion 2 that you would find in other mobile MMORPGs. And even in the content itself, we see no negative effects: The world is vast and enormous, the content is sometimes really challenging, and the systems are sufficiently deep and complex.
However, in detail, one does notice the mobile porting in Aion 2. The user interface is not optimized for PC to the degree we are used to from pure PC MMORPGs with AAA budgets. However, the developers may make adjustments here for the global PC release.
Our prediction: Successful, yes … but
Will Aion 2 be a success for us? We have a lot of experience with Asian MMORPGs coming to the West, and one thing we can say for sure: The aforementioned peculiarities of these games weigh heavily, making it extremely difficult for online role-playing games from China, Korea, and Japan to sustainably build a large community.
Even the biggest hype title from Asia in the past decades, Lost Ark, could only benefit briefly from its historically strong launch. From the once 1.3 million simultaneous players at launch, only a few thousand remain today.
The only exception to this rule is Final Fantasy XIV, which has strongly oriented itself towards Western models in many areas like WoW and had to make a historically unique restart for its success.
However, Aion 2 is much more like Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty than Final Fantasy XIV in this regard. Especially due to the rather aggressive free-to-play monetization combined with character progression focused on equipment upgrades. Grind or pay – many players may not be willing to choose between these options.
However, it is also true that large theme park MMORPGs focused on PvE have become rare. For this reason alone, many genre fans will check it out, contribute to a strong launch, and perhaps even stick around – because gameplay-wise, Aion 2 does a lot of things right.
We expect player numbers on Steam at launch somewhere between the starts of Lost Ark (1.3 million at peak) and Throne and Liberty (336,300). How it goes afterwards heavily depends on how NCSoft reacts to feedback from the Western community, when they add what content, and whether they can somewhat manage the inevitably occurring bot problem.
What are your expectations for Aion 2? Will you check it out at release or do you tend to avoid MMORPGs from Asia nowadays? Feel free to let us know in the comments! If you’re looking for more information about the game, take a look at our comprehensive overview: Release, Beta, platforms, classes, and more in the Aion 2 overview
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