AION 2 release date and start times
AION 2 launches worldwide, free to play, on Monday 5 October at 6:00 AM PDT (13:00 UTC). Founder’s Pack owners are already in: Early Access opened on Wednesday 30 September at 7:00 AM PDT, after two half-hour delays, and runs until 10 PM PDT on Sunday 4 October.
Times shown in UTC
- Early AccessWednesday, September 30 at 2:00 PM UTC Founder’s Pack owners only. Opened an hour later than planned, after two delays.
- Early Access ends, maintenanceMonday, October 5 at 5:00 AM UTC Servers close until launch. Maintenance times can still move.
- Free-to-play launchMonday, October 5 at 1:00 PM UTC Everyone, no purchase needed.
The whole schedule
| Moment | Day | Hour | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Access opened | Wednesday 30 September | 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC) | Founder's Pack owners |
| Early Access closes | Sunday 4 October | 10:00 PM PDT (05:00 UTC on 5 October) | Founder's Pack owners |
| Maintenance | Night of 4 to 5 October | Until launch; the hours can move | Nobody can log in |
| Free-to-play launch | Monday 5 October | 6:00 AM PDT (13:00 UTC) | Everyone, no purchase |
| Last chance to buy a Founder's Pack | Monday 5 October | 8:00 AM PDT (15:00 UTC) | Anyone who wants the pack items |
On Steam the five early days are called “Advanced Access”; it is the same thing as Early Access. Who qualifies, and how its servers differ from the ones that open on launch day, is on the Early Access page. If you are not buying a pack, 5 October is your day, and the game costs nothing to play.
Launch time in your city
13:00 UTC on 5 October, converted for cities near the five server regions:
| City | Time zone on that day | Free launch |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, Vancouver | PDT (UTC−7) | Mon 5 Oct, 6:00 AM |
| Mexico City | CST (UTC−6) | Mon 5 Oct, 7:00 AM |
| New York, Toronto | EDT (UTC−4) | Mon 5 Oct, 9:00 AM |
| São Paulo, Buenos Aires | BRT / ART (UTC−3) | Mon 5 Oct, 10:00 AM |
| London, Dublin | BST / IST (UTC+1) | Mon 5 Oct, 2:00 PM |
| Berlin, Paris, Madrid | CEST (UTC+2) | Mon 5 Oct, 3:00 PM |
| Singapore, Manila | SGT / PHT (UTC+8) | Mon 5 Oct, 9:00 PM |
| Tokyo | JST (UTC+9) | Mon 5 Oct, 10:00 PM |
| Sydney | AEDT (UTC+11) | Tue 6 Oct, 12:00 AM |
The clock above does the same for your device’s time zone. Players without a pack download the client on the store page; you need 100 GB of free space, and the system requirements page has the rest of the spec. How to download covers Steam and PURPLE step by step.
How the Early Access opening went
The servers were due at 6:00 AM PDT on 30 September. NC pushed that back by half an hour, then by another half hour “to resolve a few remaining issues”, and opened at 7:00 AM PDT. NC promised 10 Resurrection Stones for the wait, and later an Appearance Change Voucher for the long queues that followed. Three more pairs of European servers opened later the same day; the current list is on regions and servers.
When does it come out in Europe and North America?
- Is there a separate EU or NA date?
- No. The global version has one schedule for all its regions: NA West, NA East, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Early Access opened for all of them on 30 September and the free launch is on 5 October.
- Will Europe start at a different hour?
- No. Every region opens at the same moment, 13:00 UTC, which is 15:00 CEST in Berlin and 14:00 in London.
- What about Korea and Taiwan?
- They have their own service, which opened almost a year before the global launch, and both countries are excluded from the global version. The Korea and Taiwan page explains the split.
Before 30 September: the Steam playtest
If you played the Launch Scale Test through Steam, the test was a separate app, and it does not turn into the game:
“Steam players must uninstall the Playtest App and download AION 2 separately for Advanced Access on September 30th.”
“PURPLE players have no further steps needed.”
- Remove AION 2 Playtest from your Steam library It is its own entry, separate from AION 2. Nothing from the test carries over, so there is nothing to keep.
- Install AION 2 itself From the store page of the game. Pack owners could pre-download from 28 September; everyone else installs it from the same page before launch.
- Log in on the platform you bought on A Steam Founder’s Pack only works through Steam during Early Access, and a PURPLE one only through PURPLE. Steam or PURPLE covers the difference.
Still to be announced
- Whether the maintenance before launch runs to time; NC says its hours can change.
Changes to these hours go out on NC’s channels first; the server status page lists where to watch.