NC's Aion 2 tops 400,000 concurrent players on global launch day
Version 3: The first-day result is now confirmed by multiple outlets and the company: Aion 2 passed 400,000 peak concurrent players after global service began, with SteamDB-cited figures putting the Steam-only peak at 397,905, and new first-weekend player-review data and continued brokerage target prices have been added.
In short
NC began global service for its MMORPG Aion 2 on 5 October through Steam and its own Purple platform, and the company said peak concurrent players passed 400,000 on the first day. Early access had run from 30 September for five days for buyers of the paid Founders Pack, during which the game held first place on Steam's Top Sellers global chart and reached first place in 15 countries. Inven and Gamemeca, citing SteamDB, put the launch-day Steam-only peak at 397,905, more than double the early-access figure, while brokerages kept or raised target prices for NC.
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NC said its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Aion 2 exceeded 400,000 peak concurrent players on the first day of global service, which began on 5 October local time through the Steam platform and NC's own Purple launcher. The company said servers operate in four regions — North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with Japan as the Asian market — and that the game supports eight languages including English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. NC released a behind-the-scenes development video on the game's global YouTube channel to mark the launch. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
Ahead of launch, NC ran five days of early access from 30 September for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. During that period the game held first place on Steam's Top Sellers chart, which ranks by revenue, and reached first place in 15 countries, according to company statements carried by several outlets. As of 6 October it was first on Steam's Popular New Releases and Trending Free charts. Electronic Times reported the early-access peak at 171,530 concurrent players and said it was roughly triple the approximately 57,000 of NC's earlier global title Throne and Liberty; more than 1.3 million people had registered on Steam wishlists before launch, that report said. [ 2 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]
Player counts after launch differ by measurement basis. Inven and Gamemeca, citing SteamDB, reported a Steam-only peak of 397,905 concurrent players on launch day, more than double the early-access figure and a record for the game; Inven said the figure excludes players connecting through Purple and that official service began at 22:00 Korean time. Gamemeca said the 397,905 figure was about 20% higher than Throne and Liberty's 330,000 and third among Korean games on Steam by concurrency, behind PUBG and Lost Ark. ZDNet Korea had earlier reported a peak of 152,740 on Sunday 4 October, based on SteamDB, with about 90,000 players still online in the 04:00–05:00 low-traffic window, and noted that all of that traffic came from paid Founders Pack buyers. [ 3 , 9 , 16 ]
Gamemeca reported that as of 2 pm on 6 October the game held a “mostly positive” Steam user rating, with 9,702 reviews and 71% positive. It said players praised the graphics, character visuals, customisation, combat action and mount system, while criticism focused on pay-to-win and subscription concerns, a mobile-style interface and a fatigue system that limits play time; the outlet added that the paid structure does not directly affect performance. [ 16 ]
Analysts responded to the early results. Eugene Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a 380,000 won target price on 6 October, saying the global version's early performance raised fourth-quarter earnings visibility; it forecast third-quarter revenue of 723.9 billion won, up 101.1% year on year, and operating profit of 113.3 billion won, a swing to profit and above the market consensus of 92.7 billion won, and noted NC's previous close of 241,000 won. Hyundai Motor Securities had raised its target price to 380,000 won from 350,000 won on 2 October. Electronic Times reported NC's second-quarter revenue of 770.5 billion won, with overseas sales at 52%, North America and Europe at 27% and Asia at 25%, with the overseas share rising for four consecutive quarters. [ 2 , 5 , 8 , 13 ]
On China the documents disagree: Electronic Times said NC chief executive Kim Taekjin met Shengqu Games' chief executive in Shanghai in July to discuss strategic cooperation including Aion 2's China entry, while Hankook Ilbo said the two sides signed a strategic cooperation for the China launch and have worked together for 17 years since Aion's China service in 2009. Hankook Ilbo also reported that Kim attended a June Aion 2 user event at a PC bang in Gangnam, Seoul, with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. Chosun Ilbo said that if Aion 2 establishes itself in North America and Europe, NC's reliance on its Lineage titles would fall and later new games would gain momentum for global releases. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
Why it matters
Aion 2 is NC's main test of an overseas push: Electronic Times reported that overseas sales already passed domestic sales in the second quarter, at 52% of 770.5 billion won in revenue, so early performance in North America and Europe is a gauge of whether that shift holds. Chosun Ilbo said a successful landing abroad would lower NC's dependence on its Lineage titles and support global releases of later games. The strongest player figures come from Steam tracking and company statements, and analyst reaction rests on brokerage notes.
Key facts
- NC began global service for the MMORPG Aion 2 on 5 October via the Steam platform and its own Purple launcher. [ 2 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- NC said Aion 2 exceeded 400,000 peak concurrent players on the first day of global service. [ 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- Early access ran from 30 September for five days for buyers of the paid Founders Pack, and during it the game held first place on Steam's Top Sellers chart and ranked first in 15 countries. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- As of 6 October the game ranked first on Steam's Popular New Releases and Trending Free charts, according to the company. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 ]
- Inven and Gamemeca, citing SteamDB data, reported a Steam-only peak of 397,905 concurrent players on launch day, more than double the early-access figure; the count excludes players on Purple. [ 9 , 16 ]
- Servers operate in four regions — North America, South America, Europe and Asia, with Japan the Asian market — and the game supports eight languages including English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 18 ]
- Eugene Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a 380,000 won target price on 6 October, saying the global version's early performance raised fourth-quarter earnings visibility. [ 8 , 13 ]
- Hyundai Motor Securities raised its target price for NC to 380,000 won from 350,000 won on 2 October, saying overseas early results exceeded expectations. [ 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- NC launched Aion 2 in global service on 5 October through Steam and its Purple platform. [ 2 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- The company said the game passed 400,000 peak concurrent players on its first day of global service. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- Early access opened on 30 September and ran for five days for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. [ 2 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- During early access the game held first place on Steam's Top Sellers global chart and ranked first in 15 countries. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- The game operates servers in four regions and supports eight languages. [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 18 ]
- Eugene Investment & Securities kept a buy rating and a 380,000 won target price on NC. [ 8 , 13 ]
Still unclear
- The exact launch-day peak concurrent player count. Inven and Gamemeca report a Steam-only peak of 397,905 excluding NC's Purple launcher, while the company's figure of more than 400,000 covers a different measurement scope; the outlets do not use the same basis.
- The peak of 152,740 concurrent players on Sunday 4 October, with about 90,000 online during the 04:00–05:00 window. Reported by ZDNet Korea alone, for an earlier date, and lower than the figures other outlets cite for the same early-access period.
- Whether NC and Shengqu Games signed a strategic cooperation agreement for China or only discussed one. Electronic Times says NC chief executive Kim Taekjin met Shengqu Games' chief executive in Shanghai in July to discuss strategic cooperation including Aion 2's China entry; Hankook Ilbo says the two sides signed a strategic cooperation for the China launch.
- The exact time the global official service opened. Inven says official service began at 22:00 Korean time on 5 October, while Electronic Times reported official service had started in a story published at 12:32 that day.
- Kukmin Ilbo's headline claim that the first day passed 400,000 concurrent players. Kukmin Ilbo carries the figure in its headline with no article text or summary and is the only outlet describing the result that way without publishing the count in body copy.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Global early access opens for buyers of the paid Founders Pack, running for five days. [ 2 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 17 , 18 ]
- Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Choi Seungho raises NC's target price to 380,000 won from 350,000 won, citing early overseas results. [ 5 ]
- Aion 2 records a peak of 152,740 concurrent players, according to SteamDB data cited by ZDNet Korea. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the global launch day, noting the game had already topped Steam's worldwide sales chart during early access. [ 1 ]
- Electronic Times reports that NC has started global official service, citing an early-access peak of 171,530. [ 2 ]
- Newsis reports the global launch and a concurrent-player figure of about 170,000 during pre-release. [ 4 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports 170,000 concurrent players and calls it NC's strongest global early showing, citing a Hyundai Motor Securities note. [ 5 ]
- Official service begins, per Inven; the Steam-only peak reaches 397,905 concurrent players, more than double the early-access figure. [ 9 ]
- Eugene Investment & Securities keeps a buy rating and a 380,000 won target price, saying early results exceeded expectations and fourth-quarter earnings visibility improved. [ 8 ]
- ZDNet Korea reports NC's statement that the game passed 400,000 peak concurrent players on its first day. [ 11 ]
- Yonhap reports the launch, the 400,000 first-day figure and the Steam chart positions. [ 15 ]
- Gamemeca reports a Steam-only peak of 397,905, a 'mostly positive' user rating with 9,702 reviews at 71% positive, and third place among Korean games on Steam by concurrency. [ 16 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the company's 400,000 first-day figure, the 15-country Steam sales ranking and the eight-language service. [ 18 ]