New MMORPG Aion 2 Coming This Year, Built In Unreal Engine 5
NCSoft originally confirmed Aion 2 was in development nearly seven years ago way back in 2018, but just this week have finally started whispering about some big news to come soon. Later this month on May 29 a big livestream debut is scheduled and in the lead up to that moment we finally have some fresh details. Namely, we should be expecting a global release later this year (reportedly) and we already know it's being built in Unreal Engine 5.
By way of a new official teaser website, reporting from Korea IT Times, and a bit of Google Translate work on my part, I think we have some (relatively) concrete details on what to expect from Aion 2 when it launches globally in 2025. I've got the teaser clip which was uploaded to YouTube embedded here:
The original Aion from NCSoft first released back in 2008 for Korea and 2009 for the rest of the world and it ascended into the ranks of MMO royalty very quickly. Utilizing a unique (at the time) approach to combining PvP and PvE elements, prominent realm vs. realm factions, and extremely open-ended level design with full-flight functionality, it broke a lot of ground for the MMORPG genre and maintained a sizable audience for many years.
From what we've seen and heard, Aion 2 is using Unreal Engine 5 to ensure extremely high-quality visuals and will likely lean on its roots as a hybrid approach of both PvE and PvP content. According to Aion Strategies back in December of last year, it's expected to feature a monetization strategy similar to Throne and Liberty. It's also reportedly shifting away from the relatively traditional tab-targeting method of most of its games such as Lineage, Aion, and Throne and Liberty in favor of something more action-oriented and fast-paced, perhaps similar to games such as Black Desert Online.
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If you've followed the MMO market to any level over the years, NCSoft should be a name you're very familiar with. They've got their hands in a huge chunk of the industry dating back to 1998 with the original Lineage and now spanning the likes of Guild Wars, Blade & Soul, Throne and Liberty, Aion of course, and many other properties, like the deceased City of Heroes.
It's worth mentioning that, in the past when Aion 2 was first unveiled, it was labeled as a mobile MMORPG. It's unclear if that's still the plan, or if perhaps it will be cross-platform between PC and mobile such as other recent MMO games like Tarisland.
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