Aion 2: Korean revenue shrank while NCSOFT posted its best quarter ever — what the Q2 numbers really say

NCSOFT released its Q2 2026 results on August 11, and the figures are spectacular: 770.5 billion won in revenue, up 101% year-on-year and 38% quarter-on-quarter. Operating profit surged 1,053% year-on-year, to 173.9 billion won, for an operating margin of 23%.

The detail is more interesting than the headline. Because this record quarter wasn't driven by Aion 2, but by a game released over twenty years ago.

Lineage Classic crushes everything

Lineage Classic, launched in February, generated 185.5 billion won in the second quarter alone. Since its launch and up to the end of June, that is 140 days, its cumulative sales reached 269.1 billion won.

In other words: the relaunch of a 1998 MMORPG brings in more, quarter for quarter, than the group's technological flagship. Revenue from Lineage titles on PC was multiplied ninefold compared to last year.

Alongside this, net income came out at 131.2 billion won, a 14% decline quarter-on-quarter. And international sales account for 52% of revenue, exceeding the domestic share for the first time.

Aion 2: a clear slowdown, but figures to handle with caution

This is where we need to be precise, because the figures circulating diverge. NCSOFT does not publish a dedicated revenue line for Aion 2: everything we have comes from analyst estimates, and they don't agree.

• One analyst estimates second-quarter revenue at 88.9 billion won, or roughly 1 billion won per day.
• Another puts it at 102.6 billion won, a 25% decline compared to the previous quarter.
• A third reading, in dollars, suggests around 51 million dollars and a 52% drop since the first quarter.

The gap between these figures is considerable — anywhere from one to twice the scale of the decline. What they have in common, and it's the only point we can retain without reservation, is the direction: Aion 2's Korean revenue is declining sharply after an exceptional first quarter.

Recall that this first quarter marked the best quarter in NCSOFT's history, precisely thanks to Aion 2's Korean launch in November 2025. A slowdown after such a peak is therefore nothing abnormal in itself: it's the classic curve of an MMORPG after its launch wave.

Why this matters for the Western release

The schedule is now set: early access on September 30 for Founder's Packs holders, free worldwide launch on October 5, 2026, on PC only, via Steam and PURPLE.

The Korean slowdown can be read in two opposing ways, and it would be dishonest to present only one.

Pessimistic reading. A drop in revenue ten months after launch suggests wear on the paying player base and raises the question of long-term retention — precisely the point on which an MMORPG is judged.

An optimistic reading. A game whose revenues have stabilized before its Western release is a game whose economic balance has had time to be corrected. And NCSOFT hasn't been idle on that front: an overhaul of the payment model with a single subscription around $15 — half the current cost — the removal of part of the gated progression pace and some of the gacha elements from the Korean launch, replaced by a seasonal battle pass.

It's this corrected version that will arrive in the West, not the one that sent the numbers soaring in November 2025.

What NCSOFT is doing with this money

The quarter confirms a shift in direction. The publisher is investing in Guild Wars 3, while three titles will be featured at the gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25: Aion 2, the third-person shooter Cinder City, and the first public reveal of Project Bonfire, whose final name and first trailer will be unveiled at that event.

Cinder City is moving on to the next stage this weekend as well, with a pre-alpha test scheduled for August 14 to 16, limited to US residents and subject to a non-disclosure agreement.

What to take away from this

Three things.

First, NCSOFT is no longer dependent on Aion 2 to balance its books. Paradoxically, this is good news for Western players: a publisher that doesn't need to urgently monetize a launch is a publisher that can afford a gentler economic model.

Second, Aion 2's figures are estimates, and one should be wary of any article presenting them as official. NCSOFT has not published any breakdown by title.

Finally, the question that matters isn't how much Aion 2 is currently earning in Korea, but whether the adjustments made for the West — a unified subscription, lighter pacing restrictions, groups expanded to 5 players in dungeons and 10 in raids — will be enough to retain an audience with much lower tolerance for pacing mechanics. The answer starts on September 30.

The schedule for the next six weeks

For those following the matter, the known deadlines are now tight:

• August 25 — gamescom Opening Night Live, at 8 p.m. Paris time. This is the logical window for a launch trailer and, possibly, an official confirmation of the Western release schedule by NC itself.
• August 26 to 30 — gamescom takes place in Cologne. Aion 2 will be present there alongside Cinder City and Project Bonfire.
• September 30 — early access opens, reserved for Founder's Packs, which grant a five-day head start.
• October 5 — free-to-play global launch.

A word on the Founder's Packs, since the question keeps coming up: they are sold in three tiers, $24.99 for the Standard edition, $49.99 for the Deluxe, and $99.99 for the Ultimate. NC has also added 30 days of subscription to each of the three tiers, applied retroactively for those who had already purchased. This detail is not insignificant: the subscription determines access to the auction house, and therefore to a significant part of the game's economy.

A note on sources

This case is a textbook example of how financial information gets distorted as it circulates. NCSOFT's official figures concern the group as a whole: revenue, operating income, net income, geographic breakdown. Anything claiming to isolate Aion 2's revenue amounts to analyst estimation, and we've seen that these estimates vary by a factor of two.

The same is true of dates. The confirmed regional servers cover North America, South America, Europe, and Japan, and the game will be PC exclusive. However, several aggregators have for weeks presented calendar information as official when it actually stems from a simple calculation based on the five-day head start of the Founder's Packs. The distinction may seem byzantine; it isn't when you're deciding on a purchase.