Aion 2 Hit 170,000 Concurrent Players, and a Broker Added 30,000 Won to NCSOFT's Price Target
NCSOFT's MMORPG Aion 2 entered paid early access on September 30, 2026, with full service scheduled for October 5. It reached the top of Steam's global sales chart on day one and ranked first in 12 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Spain, and Brazil. On October 2, Hyundai Motor Securities raised its NCSOFT target price from 350,000 won to 380,000 won, citing 170,000 concurrent users worldwide. Here is what the numbers actually measure — and why other publishers spent the same week cancelling projects.
What happened: two days from early access to a sell-side note
170,000 concurrent players, nearly triple the last game
According to Aju Press on October 1, Founders Pack buyers could start playing early, with servers across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia (Japan) and support for eight languages including English, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish. Full service opens October 5 on Steam and NCSOFT's own Purple platform. The Steam wishlist list passed 1.3 million before launch.
Hyundai Motor Securities put harder numbers on it on October 2: 170,000 concurrent global users, against roughly 60,000 for NCSOFT's previous major title, Throne and Liberty. That is not a small gap.
A 30.6 billion won opening pack
The same note estimates initial pack sales of 30.6 billion won and fourth-quarter Aion 2 revenue of 241.6 billion won. The broker also notes that the Steam user score sits at 73 — better than Throne and Liberty's early 54, but not yet a verdict.
The counter-current: one publisher expands, another cuts
Krafton cancels twice in ten days
One day before the price target went up, Krafton announced on Steam that it was ending development of PUBG: Black Budget, saying the current direction "would not allow us to deliver an experience players could enjoy over the long term." The extraction shooter first appeared in a November 2023 investor presentation and only got a Steam page in 2025. Earlier, Krafton cancelled PUBG: Blindspot after two months in early access.
"Xbox is not for sale"
In its October 1 industry roundup, Massively Overpowered reported that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma responded to rumours about Microsoft's gaming division being sold with a flat "Xbox is not for sale." Add Discord launching an Ads Manager product and Ubisoft handing Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon to Massive Entertainment, and the pattern is consistent: publishers are narrowing what they are willing to gamble on.
What the numbers actually validate
Read together, these moves suggest the early Aion 2 spike validates NCSOFT's global publishing muscle more than any revival of the MMORPG genre. Those 170,000 concurrent players rest on three things: two decades of IP recognition, day-one Steam exposure, and concentrated spending through a paid founders pack. All three land within a week of launch. None of them answers the genre's oldest question — how many players are still there three weeks later.
The risk view: the broker left itself a checkpoint
Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Choi Seung-ho was explicit that once early success is confirmed, "the checkpoint is sustainability," adding that much of the negative feedback stemmed from launch delays, so the user score should climb above 80. The more revealing line is this one: the firm would still rate the stock a buy "even if AION2 Global fails," because ten titles are queued for next year, with Astrae Oratio, Cinder City, and Horizon singled out. The 2027 forecast is 3.3 trillion won in revenue and 662.4 billion won in operating profit. In other words, the bull case rests on the pipeline, not on this game's retention curve.
My take: launch numbers are a dangerous report card
Concurrent-player charts are the most misread metric in MMOs. 170,000 is real and impressive, but it measures marketing plus IP recognition, not whether the loop holds. The numbers worth watching are retention after the October 5 launch and the payment curve in November and December, once the founders-pack push has faded. What NCSOFT has lacked for two years is a convincing second month. That is why the market is willing to pay only about nine times earnings. To follow that curve, the version lists and sales charts on GameHub are more useful than single news posts.
FAQ
When does Aion 2 officially launch?
Early access began September 30, 2026, for Founders Pack buyers only. Full service is scheduled for October 5 on Steam and NCSOFT's Purple platform, with servers in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia (Japan).
What are Aion 2's numbers so far?
It topped Steam's global sales chart on day one of early access and ranked first in 12 countries including the United States, France, Germany, Spain, and Brazil, with 170,000 concurrent players versus about 60,000 for Throne and Liberty. The Steam user score is 73.
Why was NCSOFT's price target raised?
Hyundai Motor Securities raised its target from 350,000 won to 380,000 won on October 2, citing stronger-than-expected global performance for Aion 2 and ten titles queued for next year, with 2027 operating profit projected at 662.4 billion won.