AION 2 has had its full global launch on Steam. The game’s team announced the launch on 5 October 2026. On 5 October 2026, SteamDB showed a peak of 397,905 concurrent players. For an MMORPG, I think that is a very strong opening. The number certainly catches my attention, but I am also interested in what comes after the launch rush.
A strong opening is not a verdict on the whole game
397,905 is the peak number of people playing simultaneously on Steam. It is not a sales figure or the total number of people who have played AION 2. With a launch this recent, the counter can change quickly. Think of it as a record of one moment rather than the game’s final result.
I have already played a little and seen what AION 2 offers at the start. That was enough for several things to leave a strong impression. It was not enough to judge the entire MMORPG, especially its endgame.
The creator lets me make a character I actually want to play
The character editor is very well made. I feel I can match the appearance to what I have in mind, rather than pick the closest compromise from a handful of preset faces. It is one of those features that makes a difference straight away.
My own character matters to me in an MMO. If I am going to spend more time in its world, I want a character whose appearance I actually like. AION 2 gives me a very good first impression here.
The music is already one of the highlights for me
The music made a huge impression on me. At this point, I would even call it a masterpiece. That is my personal reaction to what I have heard so far, but soundtracks like this remind me why I enjoy the music in Asian MMORPGs so much.
Asian studios remind me once again how well they can use music to create atmosphere in their worlds. When discussing an MMO, it is easy to focus on counters, classes and activities. For me, music is also part of what makes me want to stay in that world.
I have seen endgame concerns, but I have not judged it yet
I have seen player comments complaining that the later game mainly comes down to repeating dungeons. Those are opinions I encountered, not my own verdict. I do not yet know how that stage will feel to me, and I do not want to pretend I have already tested it.
Repeating activities does not necessarily bother me. In an MMORPG, what matters to me is whether another run remains satisfying and whether I want to return. If it eventually feels like an obligation to tick off the same tasks, even a strong first impression may stop being enough.
For now, I want to see more. The creator and music have already impressed me, and a launch approaching 400,000 concurrent Steam players is striking. Next, I want to find out whether AION 2 gives me an equally good reason to stay when the initial excitement fades.
