The development of Aion 2 is progressing. The director has now spoken in an interview about the monetization of the theme park MMORPG. He reveals new details.
What kind of MMORPG is this? NCSoft is currently developing the successor to the MMORPG Aion, which was released in Europe in 2009. In contrast to its predecessor, part 2 focuses on PvE. Aion 2 is a prestige project for NCSoft, associated with high expectations and hopes. Currently, about 300 employees are said to be working on the Unreal Engine 5 MMORPG.
In a recent interview, the director of Aion 2, Park Byung-moo, spoke about the monetization of the new project and revealed how they intend to generate revenue.
Here you can see something:
Different from Throne and Liberty
How is the monetization structured? The director of Aion 2 has discussed in an interview, which MMO13 has, about the monetization of his MMORPG. In the interview, the director emphasizes that they are dealing with a completely different case than with Throne and Liberty, the last MMORPG from NCSoft.
As a PvP-oriented MMORPG with mass battles, Throne and Liberty already differs fundamentally from the theme park and PvE MMORPG Aion 2. This should also be taken into account in the monetization, which is why the developers want to take a different approach.
The director explains that they plan the following for the release in Korea:
Our business model will not contain an excessive number of gacha items that many consider problematic. As mentioned in the livestream in August, the majority will consist of battle passes, customization options, and skins. Pay-to-win elements may be present to some extent, but they will not be excessive.
Is there now Pay2Win in Aion 2? For the Korea version, some Pay2Win elements are not excluded. Although the director emphasizes that they want to explain more in a livestream in September 2025, it is clear that a prominent shop is to be expected at the release, and at least some gacha items and pay-to-win mechanics will be present, albeit not in excess.
However, the interview primarily focused on the release version in Korea. NCSoft has previously emphasized that the MMORPG will be tested there before coming to the West. Especially regarding monetization, corresponding changes will likely be made.
It is not surprising that NCSoft sees a strong shop as an important revenue opportunity for the release of their new MMORPG. Their last MMORPG Throne and Liberty also heavily relied on pay-to-win mechanics in the endgame: Is Throne and Liberty Pay2Win? So does the new MMORPG from Amazon play, when you don’t want to spend money
