AION 2 Playtest Times — Full Schedule in Every Timezone

The AION 2 Launch Scale Test ran across September 17 and 18, 2026 in two separate six-hour windows. It was an infrastructure test, not a demo: it opened to everyone with no keys or registration, carried progress from day one into day two, then wiped all of it. This page reproduces the official schedule and converts it into every timezone players searched for.

What time did the AION 2 playtest start?

Day 1 opened at 6:00 AM PDT on September 17, and Day 2 opened at 12:00 PM PDT on September 18. The two days did not share a start time — day two began six hours later in the day than day one. NCSOFT published the windows in PDT and CEST only.

That mismatch is the single most common source of confusion about this test. If you assumed day two followed the same clock as day one, you missed the first six hours.

What does the official schedule say?

NCSOFT’s own figures were a pre-download window, two six-hour play days and twelve hours total. They are reproduced from the Steam announcements for AppID 3393110 and the playtest app 4972320, with nothing converted yet. The pre-download window opened a full day early, which is why the client was already installed for most players when day one began.

Day 1 and Day 2 ran six hours per day, twelve hours total.

What the schedule looks like in your timezone

The two windows converted from the official PDT times. Everything in this table is a conversion, not an NCSOFT publication — the source figures are the PDT column above. The two days did not share a start time, so both rows matter when you read across the zones.

A note on “PDT to EST”

If you searched for a PDT-to-EST conversion for these windows, be careful: in September the US East Coast is on EDT (UTC−4), not EST (UTC−5). Most converters and most articles label it “EST” year-round, which shifts every result by an hour.

For the record, the literal EST figures would be 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM on day one and 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM on day two — one hour earlier than the EDT row above. The EDT numbers are the correct ones for September.

The practical rule for any future AION 2 announcement: NCSOFT publishes times in PDT, so subtract 7 to get UTC first, then shift into your own zone. Going straight from PDT to your local time is where the errors creep in.

What the test actually let you do

It was infrastructure, not a content preview. NCSOFT ran it to stress the servers before the paid Advance Access window, and the restrictions reflected that: the cash shop, player trading and Founder’s Pack items were disabled, progress was wiped at the end, and nothing carried over to launch.

The level cap of 37 is worth noting against the October 5 global build — it is a test ceiling, not a statement about the live level cap, and NCSOFT has not published what the live cap will be.

Was there maintenance during the playtest?

Yes — two events, and both were announced only inside the playtest client. That is why maintenance searches spiked while the main AION 2 news feed stayed quiet. NCSOFT posted a scheduled maintenance notice for September 17 and a hot fix update on September 18, and neither appeared on the main feed.

If you want a single place to watch for the next round of downtime, server announcements and status checks are tracked on the AION 2 server status and maintenance page.

For the test itself, the only preparation that carried over was the client download — the preload and download guide covers the 100 GB space requirement and the difference between the two launchers.

Is there another AION 2 test coming?

As of September 22, 2026, no second test has been announced. The latest official announcement is the “Launch Scale Test Comes to a Close” post from September 19. What follows the test is Advance Access on September 30 — the live global build, open only to Founder’s Pack owners, with progress that carries into October 5. The Advance Access guide covers who gets in.

One action item if you played on Steam

NCSOFT instructed Steam players to uninstall the Playtest app and download AION 2 separately before Advance Access opens on September 30. The playtest client is a distinct Steam app (AppID 4972320) from the retail game (AppID 3393110), so leaving it installed will not get you into Advance Access. Players who used the PURPLE launcher were told no action was needed.

Sources and verification

• Steam announcement, “Launch Scale Test Coming Up”, August 26, 2026 (test framing, open access)
• Steam announcement, “Pre-download Now!”, September 16, 2026 (pre-download window)
• Steam announcement, “Day 1”, September 17, 2026 (day-one PDT/CEST window)
• Steam announcement, “Launch Scale Test Comes to a Close”, September 19, 2026 (no further test)
• Playtest-app announcement feed, AppID 4972320 (server opening, scheduled maintenance, hot fix)
• Steam store page, AppID 4972320 (playtest client as a separate app; uninstall instruction)

Evidence level: Official. Every clock time, restriction and announcement date above comes from NCSOFT’s own Steam posts. The timezone table is a conversion of the official PDT and CEST windows and is labelled as such; the offset for each zone was applied from the official PDT figure, not from a third-party converter.