AION 2 Launch Scale Test: September 17-18 Dates and Sign-Up

On August 26, 2026, NC published a notice titled "Launch Scale Test Coming Up" to the official AION 2 Steam news hub and to its EN-US announcements board. The purpose it states is infrastructure, not marketing: NC is building an environment similar to the live service to check server and infrastructure stability ahead of the October 5 global launch, while giving players a chance to try the game before release. In practice it is the first legitimate, region-locked-free way for Western players to actually play AION 2.

The published schedule, as NC lists it: pre-download opens September 16 at 6:00 AM PDT (15:00 CEST) and runs until September 17 at 6:00 AM PDT. Day 1 runs September 17, 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT — 15:00 to 21:00 CEST. Day 2 runs September 18, 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM PDT — 21:00 CEST on the 18th through 03:00 CEST on the 19th.

NC states the allowance plainly: six hours per day, twelve hours in total. The two blocks are deliberately offset so NC draws load from different time zones rather than the same European evening twice. Note that Day 2 starts six hours later in the day than Day 1; if you only read the dates and not the times, it is easy to show up to an empty server.

Both official clients are in scope. The notice lists the test platforms as Steam and PURPLE — this is not a Steam-only event, and PURPLE users are not being asked to wait for Early Access.

There is no gate. NC's notice states the test is "open to everyone. No keys, no invites, no registration list" — so there is nothing to win, nothing to be selected for, and no reason to buy a key from anyone offering one. Steam users join through the playtest entry NC links from the notice; PURPLE users go through PURPLE.

Pre-download opens the day before Day 1, so plan to have the client on disk by the evening of September 16 rather than at the moment servers open. On a 100 GB install, that gap is the difference between playing Day 1 and watching a progress bar through it.

You do not need a Founder's Pack for the Launch Scale Test — that is a separate purchase covering the five-day Early Access window from September 30 to October 4. In fact NC states the opposite of a perk: Founder's Pack items are not available during the test at all. If you are weighing a purchase, the test is a free way to try the game two weeks before the Early Access money is due.

One housekeeping step matters after the test ends. Per the notice, Steam players must uninstall the Playtest App and download AION 2 separately for Advance Access on September 30 — the test client is a distinct Steam entry, not the retail one, and it will not update into it. PURPLE players have no further steps. Our download guide tracks both clients.

If you are setting up ahead of time, our system requirements guide covers the published PC specs. Because the test is genuinely open, treat any site offering AION 2 "early global download" keys or guaranteed access as what it is — there is no list to be on.

As of September 1, 2026, the version of NC's notice on the EN-US announcements board carries an information table the Steam summary did not surface, and it settles the questions that had been circulating unsourced. The list of what is disabled during the test:

• All purchasing. NC's notice states that the Shop, Quna, passes, memberships and "all payment portals" are turned off for the duration of the test.
• The Marketplace, the Quna exchange, and player-to-player trading.
• Founder's Pack items. Owning a pack grants nothing inside the Launch Scale Test.
• The Closet. Default outfits only — no cosmetic wardrobe during the test.
• Everything above level 37. The cap is set at 37, which NC notes will also lock out content that requires a higher level.

The economic shutdown is the notable part. With the Shop, Quna, memberships and the Marketplace all off, the Launch Scale Test cannot be used to get a head start on the announced business model — and there is nothing to buy even if you wanted to, which also means nothing to lose if the servers fall over.

NC's wording is unambiguous: progression carries from Day 1 to Day 2, all progression is wiped at the end of Day 2, and nothing transfers to Advance Access or launch. Whatever you reach on September 18 exists for the length of that evening and no longer. Plan the twelve hours as a test drive of the combat, the flight and the class you are undecided about, not as a head start.

That is the normal shape of a pre-launch scale test, but it is worth stating plainly because the test sits only twelve days before paid Early Access, and the two are easy to conflate.

What remains genuinely open after the notice:

• Which specific zones, dungeons, instances and classes are reachable under the level 37 cap. NC published the cap but not a content list.
• Server capacity, queue behaviour and how many regional shards will be running — the point of the test is to find that out.
• Whether NC will publish results or a follow-up report after Day 2, and whether any compensation or reward carries to launch (nothing is announced, and the notice says nothing transfers).

One thing that is settled: this test does not change any announced date. Early Access still begins September 30, and the free-to-play launch is still October 5 — our release date guide carries the full timeline. The Launch Scale Test is a rehearsal, not a soft launch.