AION 2 release date and start times
AION 2 launches worldwide, free to play, on Monday 5 October 2026. Founder’s Pack owners start five days earlier, on Wednesday 30 September, and can begin downloading at 6:00 AM PDT on Monday 28 September. That pre-download is the only moment NC has given an hour for; the opening hours of 30 September and 5 October have not been announced.
Pre-download time shown in UTC; the other two are the days NC has published, with no hour yet
- Early Access pre-downloadMonday, September 28 at 1:00 PM UTC 6:00 AM Pacific in NC’s own post. Steam playtest installs have to be removed first.
- Early AccessWednesday, September 30 to October 4 Founder’s Pack owners only. NC has not announced the opening hour.
- Free-to-play launchMonday, October 5 Everyone, no purchase needed. The hour is not out yet.
The whole schedule
| Moment | Day | Hour | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Access pre-download | Monday 28 September | 6:00 AM PDT (13:00 UTC) | Founder's Pack owners |
| Early Access opens | Wednesday 30 September | Not announced | Founder's Pack owners |
| Early Access ends | Sunday 4 October | Not announced | Founder's Pack owners |
| Free-to-play launch | Monday 5 October | Not announced | Everyone, no purchase |
Steam’s posts call the five early days “Advanced Access”, NC’s notices call them “Early Access”; it is the same thing. 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.
Pre-download time in your city
NC’s own post gives the hour in Pacific time:
“Early Access Pre-Download starts 9/28 at 6:00AM PDT.”
(From the official AION 2 account on X, on the Early Access pre-download)
That is 13:00 UTC. Converted for cities in and around the four server regions:
| City | Time zone on that day | Pre-download opens |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, Vancouver | PDT (UTC−7) | Mon 28 Sep, 6:00 AM |
| Mexico City | CST (UTC−6) | Mon 28 Sep, 7:00 AM |
| New York, Toronto | EDT (UTC−4) | Mon 28 Sep, 9:00 AM |
| São Paulo | BRT (UTC−3) | Mon 28 Sep, 10:00 AM |
| London, Dublin | BST / IST (UTC+1) | Mon 28 Sep, 2:00 PM |
| Berlin, Paris, Madrid | CEST (UTC+2) | Mon 28 Sep, 3:00 PM |
| Tokyo | JST (UTC+9) | Mon 28 Sep, 10:00 PM |
| Sydney | AEST (UTC+10) | Mon 28 Sep, 11:00 PM |
The clock above does the same for your device’s time zone. Steam lists 100 GB of free space for the install, and the system requirements page has the rest of the spec.
When does it come out in Europe and North America?
- Is there a separate EU or NA date?
- No. NC has published one schedule for the global version, and the servers it covers are in North America, South America, Europe and Japan. For all of them, Early Access opens on 30 September and the free launch is on 5 October.
- Will Europe start at a different hour?
- Nothing published says so. The Launch Scale Test opened at one instant everywhere (6:00 AM PDT was 15:00 CEST), but NC has not stated the hour for 30 September or 5 October.
- What about Korea and Taiwan?
- They have their own service, running since 19 November 2025, 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.”
(From Steam announcement: Launch Scale Test Comes to a Close: What's Next?)
- 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, once the pre-download opens on 28 September if you own a pack.
- 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.
What NC has not said yet
- The opening hour on 30 September and on 5 October.
- Whether players without a pack get their own pre-download before 5 October.
- Whether the servers go down for maintenance between the end of Early Access and launch.
The membership goes on sale at 6:00 AM PDT on 30 September, the hour NC also used for the Launch Scale Test, but that is a shop time, not a server time. New hours will appear on the channels listed on the server status page.