Aion 2 draws Steam peak of 397,905 players after global launch, NC says
Version 2: New figures emerged after the official launch: Inven reported a Steam peak of 397,905 concurrent players, more than double the early-access level, and a second brokerage kept a raised target price on NC, while weekend concurrency and the exact launch time differ between outlets.
In short
NC began global service for its MMORPG Aion 2 on 5 October, after early access from 30 September for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. Early access peaked at 171,530 concurrent players on the SteamDB statistics site and ranked first in Steam sales in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil, with more than 1.3 million pre-launch wishlist registrations. Inven reported a post-launch Steam peak of 397,905 concurrent players, 2.3 times the early-access figure; a second brokerage kept a raised target price on the stock.
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NC began global service for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Aion 2 on 5 October, after early access that opened on 30 September for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. Electronic Times reported the early-access peak at 171,530 concurrent players according to the SteamDB statistics site, and said the game ranked first in Steam sales in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil. More than 1.3 million people had registered for it on Steam wishlists before launch, the same report said, and Chosun Ilbo said Aion 2 had already reached the top of Steam's worldwide sales chart during early access. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
Figures after the official launch differ by source. Inven reported a Steam peak of 397,905 concurrent players on 5 October, 2.3 times the early-access level and a record for the game, excluding players connecting through NC's Purple launcher, and said official service began at 22:00 Korean time. ZDNet Korea reported a peak of 152,740 concurrent players on Sunday 4 October, with about 90,000 still online during the low-traffic 04:00–05:00 window, and noted that all of the traffic came from paid Founders Pack buyers because free users had not yet joined. [ 3 , 9 ]
Electronic Times said the early-access peak was about three times the roughly 57,000 concurrent players of NC's earlier global title Throne and Liberty. Hankook Ilbo described the 170,000 concurrent figure as the strongest early showing among NC's global services. [ 2 , 5 ]
Brokerages raised expectations. Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Choi Seungho lifted his target price for NC to 380,000 won from 350,000 won in a 2 October report, saying early overseas results had exceeded expectations. On 6 October, Eugene Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a 380,000 won target, saying the global version's early performance raised earnings visibility for the fourth quarter; it noted NC's previous close of 241,000 won. Chosun Ilbo reported that securities firms had raised their target prices. [ 5 , 6 , 8 ]
The launch is part of an overseas expansion NC has been pursuing. Electronic Times reported that of the company's 770.5 billion won in second-quarter revenue, 52% came from overseas, 27% from North America and Europe and 25% from Asia, with the overseas share rising for four consecutive quarters. It said NC plans to launch new titles globally at the same time and to extend service to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and that its subculture RPG Astrae Oratio, published by NC and developed by Dynamis One and set in a fictional Tokyo, had its first demo at the Tokyo Game Show in September with a 2027 global launch target. Inven said the global version will support eight languages through Steam and Purple. [ 2 , 9 ]
On China, the documents disagree. Electronic Times said NC chief executive Kim Taekjin met the chief executive of Shengqu Games in Shanghai in July to discuss strategic cooperation including Aion 2's China entry. Hankook Ilbo said the two sides signed a strategic cooperation for the China launch, and that the companies have worked together for 17 years since Aion's China service in 2009; it also reported that Kim attended a June Aion 2 user event at a PC bang in Gangnam, Seoul, with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang. Chosun Ilbo said that if Aion 2 establishes itself in North America and Europe, NC's reliance on its Lineage titles would fall and later new games would gain momentum for global releases. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
Why it matters
Aion 2 is NC's main test of a strategy to reduce its reliance on the Lineage series at home: Chosun Ilbo said a successful landing in North America and Europe would lower that dependence and support global releases of later titles. Electronic Times reported overseas sales already passed domestic sales in the second quarter, so early Western performance is a gauge of that push. Analyst reaction so far rests on two brokerage notes, and the strongest post-launch player figure comes from a single specialist outlet.
Key facts
- NC began global service for the MMORPG Aion 2 on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 9 ]
- Global early access started on 30 September for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Early access peaked at 171,530 concurrent players according to SteamDB, or about 170,000. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]
- Aion 2 ranked first in Steam sales in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Steam wishlist registrations before launch exceeded 1.3 million. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Inven reported a Steam peak of 397,905 concurrent players after the official launch, 2.3 times the early-access level. [ 9 ]
- Hyundai Motor Securities raised NC's target price to 380,000 won from 350,000 won, and Eugene Investment & Securities kept a buy rating and the 380,000 won target. [ 5 , 8 ]
- Electronic Times reported NC's second-quarter revenue was 770.5 billion won, with overseas sales at 52%, North America and Europe at 27% and Asia at 25%. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- NC launched Aion 2 in global service on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 9 ]
- Early access opened on 30 September for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Peak concurrent players during early access reached about 170,000, or 171,530 according to SteamDB. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]
- Aion 2 topped Steam's sales ranking in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Pre-launch Steam wishlist registrations passed 1.3 million. [ 2 , 5 ]
- Brokerages see the early global results as exceeding expectations: Hyundai Motor Securities raised its target price to 380,000 won, and Eugene Investment & Securities kept a buy rating and the same target. [ 5 , 8 ]
Still unclear
- The size of the early-access peak. Electronic Times and Hankook Ilbo report 171,530 or about 170,000 concurrent players, while ZDNet Korea reports a peak of 152,740 for Sunday 4 October; the outlets do not use the same measurement date.
- The exact timing of the official global service opening. Inven says service began at 22:00 Korean time on 5 October, while Electronic Times reported the official service had started in a story published at 12:32 that day.
- Whether NC and Shengqu Games signed a strategic cooperation agreement or only discussed one at the July meeting in Shanghai. Electronic Times says the two chief executives discussed strategic cooperation including Aion 2's China entry; Hankook Ilbo says a strategic cooperation for the China launch was signed.
- The post-launch Steam peak of 397,905 concurrent players. Reported only by Inven, which also notes the figure excludes players connecting through NC's Purple launcher.
- NC's second-quarter overseas revenue breakdown, including the 52% overseas share. Reported only by Electronic Times, based on company figures.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Global early access opens for buyers of the paid Founders Pack. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 9 ]
- Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Choi Seungho raises NC's target price to 380,000 won from 350,000 won, citing early overseas results. [ 5 ]
- Aion 2 records a peak of 152,740 concurrent players, according to SteamDB data cited by ZDNet Korea. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the global launch day, noting Aion 2 had already topped Steam's worldwide sales chart during early access. [ 1 ]
- Electronic Times reports that NC has started global official service. [ 2 ]
- Newsis reports the global launch and a concurrent-player figure of about 170,000. [ 4 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports 170,000 concurrent players and calls it NC's strongest global early showing. [ 5 ]
- Official service begins, per Inven; after launch the Steam peak reaches 397,905 concurrent players, 2.3 times the early-access figure. [ 9 ]
- Eugene Investment & Securities keeps a buy rating and a 380,000 won target price, saying early results exceeded expectations and fourth-quarter earnings visibility improved. [ 8 ]