Aion 2’s free-to-play PC MMORPG release is Monday, October 5, 2026, available via Steam or NC’s PURPLE launcher. Servers worldwide activate simultaneously, so your time zone determines your local start time. The five-day Founder’s Pack early-access period is over, and a single countdown now applies to the global client.
Quick answer: Aion 2 opens worldwide at 13:00 UTC on October 5, 2026. That corresponds to 6:00 AM in PDT, 9:00 AM in EDT, 2:00 PM in BST, and 3:00 PM in CEST. Log in as soon as the countdown reaches zero.
Release time: Monday, October 5, 2026 at 13:00 UTC (6:00 AM PDT / 3:00 PM CEST)
Aion 2 release time in your region
The launch is a single global switch at 13:00 UTC. Because that moment falls at different clock times around the world, players in New Zealand and eastern Australia see the game arrive on October 6, while most of the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia get it on October 5.
| Region | Time zone | Local launch time |
|---|---|---|
| US West | PDT (UTC−7) | 6:00 AM, Oct 5 |
| US Central | CDT (UTC−5) | 8:00 AM, Oct 5 |
| US East | EDT (UTC−4) | 9:00 AM, Oct 5 |
| Brazil | BRT (UTC−3) | 10:00 AM, Oct 5 |
| Universal | UTC | 1:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| United Kingdom | BST (UTC+1) | 2:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| Central Europe | CEST (UTC+2) | 3:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| South Africa | SAST (UTC+2) | 3:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| Eastern Europe | EEST (UTC+3) | 4:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| India | IST (UTC+5:30) | 6:30 PM, Oct 5 |
| Philippines / Beijing | PHT / CST (UTC+8) | 9:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| Japan / Korea | JST / KST (UTC+9) | 10:00 PM, Oct 5 |
| Australian East Coast | AEDT (UTC+11) | 12:00 AM, Oct 6 |
| New Zealand | NZDT (UTC+13) | 2:00 AM, Oct 6 |
Every zone above is still on summer time on October 5, so no clock change shifts these figures. The game uses regional servers for North America, South America, Europe and Asia (the Asian region is hosted in Japan), but there are no separate release waves. All realms open together at 13:00 UTC.
Maintenance before the launch
An eight-hour maintenance window sits directly in front of the global opening. It brings the whole service offline to switch the client over to full release, which means Advance Access players are also locked out during this period.
- Maintenance starts at 05:00 UTC on October 5 (10:00 PM PDT on October 4, 7:00 AM CEST)
- Maintenance ends when the servers reopen at 13:00 UTC on October 5 for the free-to-play launch
NC states that the maintenance schedule and details can change at any time. During the Advance Access opening, a last-minute delay pushed the start back by a total of one hour, so a short slip on launch day is possible if the player surge is large.
Where to download Aion 2
Aion 2 is PC-only for the global release, running on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). You can get it free on Steam or through NC’s PURPLE launcher, and both versions share the same servers, so your launcher choice does not split you from friends. The download runs roughly 82 GB, and Steam recommends keeping about 100 GB free on an SSD. Install it before the countdown ends to avoid waiting on the download at launch.
If the Steam Play button stays grey after the servers open, fully exit Steam from its menu and reopen it. Simply closing the window may not be enough for Steam to pick up the update that makes the game playable.
Founder’s Pack window and Advance Access servers
The three Founder’s Pack tiers (Standard at $24.99, Deluxe at $49.99 and Ultimate at $99.99) carried the five-day head start that ran from September 30 to October 4. The packs leave the shop shortly after launch, at 15:00 UTC on October 5, giving a two-hour window after the servers open.
At global launch, players who aren’t Founders can also enter the Advance Access realms, as long as they have room. About half of the currently listed Advance Access realms display the “character creation restricted” label because they’ve reached their population cap. Realms with remaining space were added later in the head-start period, so you may be able to join one if you get through the launch-day queue.
Advance Access characters remain on the servers where they were created. Before anyone makes a main character, agree on your region, faction, and server with your friends; a busy server may block new character creation within a few hours.
