Aion 2 Founders’ Packs Are Outselling AAA Games on Steam and the Global Launch Is Still Days Away

Key Takeaways

• Aion 2 hit number one on Steam’s Top Sellers chart through Founders’ Pack sales alone — beating EA FC 27, Ace Combat 8, and Gears of War: E-Day by revenue.
• The game is sitting at number nine on Steam’s Most Played list during Early Access — already above Delta Force and Delta Lock.
• Founders’ Packs start at $24.99 / £18.49 and grant five days of Early Access that kicked off September 30, 2026.
• The full free-to-play global launch lands on October 5, 2026 on Steam and NC’s PURPLE launcher.
• Aion 2 first launched in South Korea and Taiwan on November 19, 2025, and the global PC version has been rebuilt specifically for Western players.
• The game runs on Unreal Engine 5 and features eight classes, 200+ dungeons, 1,100+ achievements, and aerial combat across a world 36 times larger than the original Aion.

Something weird is happening on Steam right now. An MMO — a free-to-play MMO that isn’t even fully out yet — is sitting at the top of the Top Sellers chart and cracking the top 10 Most Played. Not through some sneaky discount or a viral meme moment. Just through Founders’ Packs. Aion 2 is making a very loud statement before it’s even open to everyone, and October 5 is going to be interesting.

Founders’ Packs Are Outselling Full-Price AAA Releases

This is the part that’s genuinely surprising. Aion 2 is a free-to-play game, which means the only way it’s generating revenue right now is through Early Access Founders’ Packs. The cheapest tier — the Standard Edition — runs $24.99 in the US and £18.49 in the UK, and comes with five days of Early Access, a Daeva’s Campaign Supply Chest, and a “Vanguard of Atreia” title. The Deluxe sits at $49.99 and the Ultimate at $99.99, both stacking in more cosmetics, supply items, and 30 days of Membership across every tier.

Those packs are selling well enough that Aion 2 has claimed the number one spot on Steam’s Top Sellers chart by revenue — beating out EA FC 27, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, and Gears of War: E-Day. Those are full-priced retail releases from massive publishers, and an MMO Founders’ Pack is sitting above all of them. That’s not something you see every cycle.

For context, NC originally put the Founders’ Packs on sale back on July 22, 2026 — so this isn’t an overnight spike. The momentum has been building for months, and the chart position reflects that sustained interest from the MMO community, not just a day-one rush.

Number Nine on Steam’s Most Played — and This Is Just Early Access

The player count picture is almost as impressive. Aion 2 is currently sitting at number nine on Steam’s Most Played chart, which tracks concurrent player numbers. It’s above Delta Force and Delta Lock — and while it hasn’t pushed past the long-established giants like PUBG and Apex Legends, or recent multiplayer hits like Wardogs, landing in the top 10 during Early Access is already strong.

The key thing to understand here is that only Founders’ Pack buyers are playing right now. October 5 is when the doors open for everyone — completely free. The expectation is that the concurrent player count will jump significantly the moment free-to-play goes live, which could push Aion 2 even further up that chart.

What Took So Long? A Quick History

Aion 2 has been a long time coming for the Western MMO crowd. The original Aion launched back in 2008 and was massive in its day — it actually topped the PC retail charts that September, beating out The Sims 3 and Champions Online. The sequel has been in development for years, and it went live in South Korea and Taiwan on November 19, 2025. The global PC release was then confirmed for 2026 at gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, where NC (formerly NCsoft) dropped a release date trailer locking in October 5, 2026 as the worldwide free-to-play launch date.

NC has been clear that the global version isn’t just a port. It was built specifically for PC players in the West, with dedicated servers in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan, and ten language options including English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, and both forms of Chinese. The Early Access period running from September 30 through October 4 has been described as a full live version — all progress made carries over, and it’s not a beta. What you build during those five days stays with you.

So What Is Aion 2 Actually Like?

If you’re not familiar with the franchise, Aion 2 is an open-world MMORPG with a heavy emphasis on aerial combat — and we mean that literally, not as a vague selling point. Flying is a core mechanic, not just a travel system. The game world itself is 36 times larger than the original Aion, and you can actually fly freely across it, dive underwater, and engage in aerial PvP and PvE. It’s built on Unreal Engine 5, and the visual quality reflects that.

The combat lands somewhere between traditional tab-targeting MMO and action RPG — similar in spirit to what Black Desert Online does, but with its own feel. NC has confirmed on Steam that there is zero auto-combat on the PC version, which is a deliberate design choice to push skill expression and positioning. Each class gets a maximum of 12 active skills in combat, and the system rewards knowing your rotation and reading your positioning carefully.

There are eight playable classes at launch — Templar, Gladiator, Assassin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Spiritmaster, Chanter, and Cleric — covering the usual tank, healer, and DPS roles but each with a distinct identity. Character customisation lets you tweak over 200 features, and the story picks up 200 years after the original Aion, with the Tower of Eternity collapsed, the Daevas weakened, and the war against the Balaur still grinding on.

For content, the numbers are solid. Over 200 dungeons covering solo challenges, 5-player party content, and 10-player group raids. More than 1,100 achievements to work through. A mix of PvP modes ranging from 1v1 and 4v4 arenas to massive cross-server Realm-vs-Realm battles and the return of the faction-based Abyss system from the original. Pets can be collected by killing enemies out in the open world too, which is the kind of small detail that MMORPG players tend to sink hours into without realising.

The Economy and Monetisation — Worth Knowing Before You Dive In

Since Aion 2 is free-to-play, the monetisation question is front of mind for a lot of people. NC has been fairly transparent about it. The in-game currency is Kina, and the player-driven Market and Exchange — where you buy and sell items using Kina at player-set prices — is gated behind a $15/month Membership subscription. The Founders’ Packs include 30 days of this Membership retroactively across all three tiers, which NC added following community feedback after their August 7 livestream.

The shop leans cosmetic, and NC has stated that Founders’ Pack contents are appearance items and early-game consumables with no stat advantages. It’s not quite the notorious pay-to-win model some NCSoft titles have had in the past, but it’s worth going in with your eyes open. There are also per-character Battle Passes layered in. Whether that sits well with you will depend on your history with MMO monetisation.

One other note: during Early Access, the economy runs on separate servers. The Market, Exchange, and PvP matchmaking are isolated from the main launch player base for a period once October 5 hits. So if you’re in during Early Access, expect that transition to shift things when the gates open fully.

What Happens on October 5?

This is the big one. Steam’s Most Played charts right now only represent Founders’ Pack holders. When Aion 2 goes fully free-to-play on October 5, anyone with a Steam account can jump in with zero cost. The concurrent player count is very likely to climb from that ninth spot significantly — how high depends on how well the servers hold up on day one and whether the free-to-play crowd gets hooked the same way Early Access players have.

If you’re an MMO fan who has been watching this one from the sidelines, October 5 removes every barrier. You don’t need to spend a penny. The question is just whether Aion 2 can hold that momentum once the initial launch excitement settles — which is the harder test for any live service game.

MMO Players Are Paying Attention

The MMO genre doesn’t launch games that chart above AAA sports titles on Steam very often. The fact that Aion 2 is doing it on Founders’ Packs alone — before a single free player has logged in — says something real about the appetite for this game. The original Aion community has been waiting a long time for a proper sequel, and based on the Steam charts, a lot of new faces are joining them.

NC’s PC revenue climbed 210% year-over-year in Q1 2026 off the back of Aion 2’s Asian launch, which tells you the game was already performing strong well before the global window opened. Whether that translates into a healthy long-term player base is the real question — but right now, the momentum is hard to ignore.

Keep an eye out for more gaming news and launches in the meantime. If you’re into strategy and progression games, check out our coverage of the latest Game of Thrones Legends Lord of the Hightower summon. And if the big industry news has been catching your eye, our piece on Take-Two’s GTA 6 Online PC statement from the shareholder meeting is worth a read too.