Aion 2 ist offiziell noch nicht einmal gestartet und drängt sich trotzdem schon in Steams Bestenlisten nach oben.
Der kostenpflichtige Vorabzugang für Käufer des Founder's Pack läuft erst seit ein paar Tagen. Das hat gereicht, damit NCsofts neues MMORPG in beiden großen öffentlichen Ranglisten von Steam weit oben auftaucht: bei den meistverkauften und bei den meistgespielten Spielen. Für ein Genre, das seit Jahren als Auslaufmodell gilt, ist das bemerkenswert.
Der Weg nach oben
Zuerst zu den Verkäufen. Zum Zeitpunkt des ursprünglichen Berichts stand Aion 2 auf Platz 4 der Steam-Bestseller. Eine starke Position, doch das Spiel stand schon höher. Eine Zeit lang hielt es sogar Platz 1, und NCsoft feierte das mit einem Gutscheincode für die Spieler. Eine kleine Geste, aber sie zeigt, dass das Studio die Ranglisten genauso aufmerksam verfolgt wie alle anderen.
Aion 2 hasn't even launched properly yet, and it's already shoving its way up Steam's charts.
The paid head start for founder's pack buyers has only been running for a couple of days. That's long enough for NCsoft's new MMORPG to show up near the top of both of Steam's big public lists: the best-selling games and the most-played ones. For a genre that has spent years being called a relic, that's worth paying attention to.
Climbing the charts
Start with sales. At the time of the original report, Aion 2 was sitting at #4 on Steam's top sellers list. That's a strong position, but it had been higher. For a while the game held the #1 spot outright, and NCsoft marked the moment by handing out a coupon code to players. It's a small gesture, but it shows the studio is watching those rankings as closely as everyone else.
Astralis has a new name on its cap table, and it's one football fans will know. Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and entrepreneur Gonzalo Vila are investing in Fusion Esports Group, the company that owns the Danish esports brand. They are coming in through NXTPLAY, the investment vehicle the two of them founded.
The timing is the interesting part. The deal was announced on Tuesday, 29 September. Eight weeks earlier, on 1 August, Astralis signed off on audited accounts warning that the business needed more cash than it had actually secured.
Nobody has said how much money is involved. The financial terms weren't disclosed, so we don't know the size of NXTPLAY's stake or how much fresh funding Fusion is getting.
South Korea's esports squad is heading home from Japan with a full bag.
The country wrapped up its campaign at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the continent-wide multi-sport event, with five esports medals from nine events: two golds, one silver and two bronzes. The headline result is a second straight League of Legends gold, according to InvenGlobal. But the more interesting story is how spread out the medals are. They came from team events and individual ones, from fighting games to racing to a Pokémon MOBA.
League of Legends: Eight Games, Zero Losses
South Korea's League of Legends run was about as clean as it gets. The team played eight games and won all of them.
Grand Theft Auto Online has started its Halloween season, and it isn't a single weekend of spooky bonuses. The multiplayer crime sandbox has lined up events and rewards that run through the whole of October. The theme is everywhere, from the races to the side activities you might otherwise ignore.
There's also a subtext to all of this, and it's hard to miss. GTA 6 is on the horizon, and the obvious question hanging over the original online game is what happens to it once the sequel arrives. A month of seasonal events won't answer that question, but it does keep players busy and logging in while they wait.
GaMP CC is financed by advertising. You can choose how you want to use this website:
With advertising: we load an advertising script from a third-party ad network. The ad network may set cookies, use your IP address and device information, and may process data outside the EU. We also count your visits for our own visitor statistics (with a random ID stored in your browser).
Ad-free for €0.99 per month: no advertising and no advertising tracking. Cancel at any time.
You can change your decision at any time via "Cookie Settings" at the bottom of every page.
