AION 2 has not even reached its free-to-play launch yet, and apparently nobody told the players they were supposed to wait.
During its first day of Advanced Access, AION 2 reached an all-time Steam peak of 171,530 concurrent players. That is an enormous jump from the recent Launch Scale Test and particularly impressive considering that the September 30 opening is only available to players who purchased a Founder's Pack.
The actual number of people playing AION 2 was almost certainly higher. SteamDB can only show Steam activity, while AION 2 is also available through NC's PURPLE launcher. NC has not published a combined concurrency number, so 171,530 should be treated as the confirmed Steam figure rather than the total Global population.
Still, 171,530 people buying their way into an MMO five days before it becomes free is not exactly a quiet opening.
AION 2 More Than Doubled Its Launch Scale Test Peak
The most useful comparison comes from only two weeks ago.
During the Global Launch Scale Test, we reported that AION 2 reached 73,761 concurrent Steam players. That was already a strong result for a short test where characters would eventually be wiped and most of the permanent economy was disabled.
Advanced Access has now pushed that figure to 171,530.
In other words, AION 2 has more than doubled its Steam test peak before the doors have even opened to free-to-play players.
That makes the timing particularly interesting. AION 2's full Global launch does not happen until October 5, when players no longer need a Founder's Pack to enter. If Advanced Access can attract more than 170,000 simultaneous Steam users behind a paid entry requirement, October 5 will be the first real stress test for just how much demand is waiting outside.
AION 2 Is Also Number One on Steam's Top Sellers
The concurrency figure is not the only launch statistic getting attention.
AION 2 has also reached #1 on Steam's Top Sellers chart. That makes sense when every Steam player currently inside Advanced Access has necessarily bought one of the Founder's Packs, but reaching the top of the global chart still demonstrates how much interest has built around the Western release.
That interest was already visible before launch. Players piled into the test, the Advanced Access preload began two days before opening, and NC published the first permanent server matchups only shortly before players entered Atreia.
Then everybody arrived at once. MMO launches do enjoy tradition.
The Steam Reviews Are Positive, But Hardly Unanimous
The player count tells us people are interested. It does not automatically tell us everybody is happy.
At the time of writing, roughly 71 percent of Steam user reviews are positive. That is actually fairly close to what we saw during testing, when AION 2 finished its Launch Scale Test at 69 percent positive.
The arguments remain familiar. Some players praise the combat, visuals, enormous world and sheer quantity of MMO systems to dig into. Others remain less enthusiastic about progression design, monetization and the unmistakable structure of a modern Korean MMORPG.
In other words, the test did a surprisingly good job of predicting the conversation.
There is also some useful context when looking at the Steam numbers. AION 2 remained unavailable through Steam in several countries immediately before Advanced Access, while PURPLE players are completely invisible to SteamDB's concurrency chart.
October 5 Is the Number That Really Matters Next
For now, 171,530 is an extremely strong opening figure.
But Advanced Access is still a peculiar sample. Everyone currently playing was interested enough to spend money before a game that becomes free only five days later. Those are, by definition, some of AION 2's most motivated players.
October 5 changes the equation.
That is when the paywall disappears, new Launch Servers open and the much larger group of players who decided to simply wait can finally enter Atreia.
The Launch Scale Test peaked at 73,761. Advanced Access has already reached 171,530.
Now we get to see what happens when the doors are actually open.
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