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Monetization and Memberships
June 26, 2026 at 09:06 AM
Updated membership section: consolidated into Kwairing Express on June 17; expanded fromis_9 collaboration with Verteron and Altgard stages and event window
AION 2 is free-to-play. The game is free to download and play to endgame, with optional paid layers built around memberships, a premium currency, and cosmetic purchases. The model described here reflects the Korean and Taiwanese live build; NCsoft has stated the global terms will be tuned for Western markets and has not finalized them as of this article's writing.
Every class, faction, region, and the core progression systems are available without paying. The cash shop on the live build is positioned as cosmetic and convenience focused rather than a power store, and NCsoft has framed the global model as a lighter-touch version of its other recent free-to-play release. Because the global pricing is still being adjusted, treat any specific cash-shop price below as a Korean-build reference point, not a confirmed global figure.
Through mid-June 2026 the live build offered two optional monthly memberships that could be purchased together or separately, covering different benefit categories. The June 17, 2026 update folded that structure into a single membership (see the Kwairing Express Membership section below). The two-tier layout below describes how the system worked before that change:
Membership | Focus |
|---|---|
Convenience Membership | Quality-of-life perks that smooth the day-to-day grind, such as expanded conveniences and time-savers |
Content Membership | Access-oriented perks tied to content throughput and reward cadence |
On the Korean build the two memberships have been sold as a bundle. The exact bundle price and the split of benefits between the two tiers are live-build values; check the official store for the current global terms once they are published.
Quna is the premium currency. It is bought with real money and spent on cosmetics, battle passes, and shop items. On the live build, Quna can also be exchanged for the in-game gold currency, Kinah, through an in-game exchange. That Quna-to-Kinah conversion is the part of the model that has driven the most player discussion, because it links real-money spending to the in-game economy. Whether the global launch keeps the same exchange and at what rate is part of the not-yet-finalized Western terms.
Currency | Type | Use |
|---|---|---|
Quna | Premium (real money) | Cosmetics, battle passes, shop items; exchangeable for Kinah on the live build |
Kinah | In-game gold | Crafting, repairs, trading, and most in-game transactions |
The live build runs cosmetic battle passes on a recurring cycle of roughly two months each. Passes are purchased with Quna and reward cosmetic items along a track that fills as you play. They are cosmetic-focused rather than a source of combat power, and they run alongside the cash shop rather than replacing it.
The cash shop sells cosmetic outfits, appearance items, and convenience goods for Quna. NCsoft's framing for the live build positions it away from loot-box-style randomized power and toward direct cosmetic and convenience purchases. As with the rest of the model, the precise global catalog and pricing are being adjusted for Western markets.
In its Q1 2026 earnings disclosure, NCsoft broke down where AION 2's KR and TW revenue came from across the first full quarter the game was live. The disclosed mix was roughly a quarter from memberships, a quarter from cosmetic skins, and the remaining half from the Quna premium currency, with a meaningful share of the Quna spend converting onward into in-game item purchases. The disclosure also confirmed that AION 2 generated several hundred billion Korean won in revenue across the first full quarter on the KR and TW live build. These are KR and TW live-build figures specific to the period through Q1 2026; the global launch's monetization structure is still being tuned, so the same split should not be assumed for the Western release.
Confirmed: the game is free-to-play; the live build uses a single membership (consolidated on June 17, 2026), the Quna premium currency, a Quna-to-Kinah exchange, cosmetic battle passes, and a cosmetic cash shop.
Pending for global: the exact Western pricing, the membership bundle price, the Quna exchange rate, and the global cash-shop catalog. NCsoft has said these will be tuned for Western markets and has not locked them.
Region-only: any mobile-specific store behavior is tied to the Korean and Taiwanese mobile build; the global release is PC-only.
At the June 17, 2026 maintenance on the Korean and Taiwanese build, the separate memberships were retired and consolidated into a single membership called the Kwairing Express Membership. The three previously sold memberships, the Shugo Express Membership, the Sand Breeze Membership, and the Chengarung Membership, ended sales, and the Shugo Express benefits carried over into the new Kwairing Express tier. NCsoft set the unified membership at a lower price than the prior structure; the exact Korean-build price is a regional reference point rather than a confirmed global figure, since the global terms are still being tuned for Western markets.
The same June 17, 2026 maintenance added a cosmetic collaboration with the K-pop group fromis_9 on the Korean and Taiwanese build. The collaboration adds themed costumes, weapons, a pet, and wings, plus performance emotes; wearing the full themed set changes the character's appearance to match the collaboration. Dedicated performance stages went up in Verteron and Altgard, where a player holding the collaboration performance emote can start a stage show that up to five characters join, complete with stage effects and music. A tie-in event, The Stolen Performance Props, runs alongside the collaboration through the August 12, 2026 maintenance. These are cosmetic items consistent with the cash-shop model described above, not power purchases. As with the rest of the monetization model, whether this collaboration reaches the global build is not confirmed.
AION 2 Overview
