As this month's freshly released hit MMO, Aion 2 has finally launched to considerable hype. Hundreds of thousands of players are experiencing its stunning character creation system and impressive graphics—despite developer and publisher NC having used generative AI during development.
If you're not already familiar, Aion 2 is the ambitious sequel to the Korean MMO Aion. This classic title, released in 2008, still boasts a dedicated core player base even after all these years.
Player activity for the game is already quite substantial. According to SteamDB data, the player count approached 400,000 on its first day of official launch—after all, those who paid for pre-order access had already entered the game early. To be precise, the peak reached 397,905, which is no small feat.
On Steam's official Most Played chart, this MMO currently ranks fourth, surpassing Apex Legends and War Dogs. It is also the third most-downloaded game on Steam, making its performance truly noteworthy.
The game's popularity is clearly high, but player reviews for Aion 2 are far from optimistic, with overall feedback leaning negative.
In fact, the game currently holds a "Mixed" rating on Steam, with many reviews highlighting its pay-to-win mechanics.
Some players have described its monetization system as "predatory," stating that Aion 2 "completely betrays the core essence of a great MMO." Others have complained about the game's rough, low-quality feel, which may also hint at NC's use of generative AI during development.
The game's store page also includes a relevant disclaimer: "Some game assets were created using AI tools; arcane card designs and some icons use AI-generated materials."
Of course, not everyone is opposed to generative AI, but then again, that isn't the main focus of player feedback. As someone who has personally played the game, I completely understand the reasons—pay-to-win is a major pain point for the MMO community, and the Aion series has long had a tradition of heavy monetization.
That said, there are also positive remarks surrounding this sequel. Honestly, I find quite a few aspects commendable myself: the character creation system is excellent, the game world is gorgeous, and the player count is clearly robust.