NCSoft's Aion 2, which launched on the 19th, faced immediate backlash regarding its paid items. It was discovered that the publisher included items in paid bundles that they had previously promised would not be sold. The development team acknowledged the issue and promised to remove the relevant items.

The game officially launched at midnight on the 19th. Shortly after, criticism regarding its monetization poured in from users. The item that caused particular controversy was the 'Book of Souls', which Development PD Kim Nam-jun had explicitly stated under his own name would not be sold for Quna (the game's premium currency).

The problem was that the item was included in a bundle called 'Triniel’s Quna Supply Box', sold for 86,000 KRW, rather than being sold for Quna. Players who discovered this strongly protested, calling it a 'broken promise'.

In addition, there was controversy over the 'Combat Enhancement Scrolls' included in the 'Zikel’s Quna Supply Box', which was sold for 21,500 KRW. The Combat Enhancement Scrolls increase damage amplification by 10% and damage resistance by 10% for 5 minutes. This led to accusations of 'pay-to-win', as the company was accused of creating high-efficiency items to induce purchases.

These actions contradicted statements made by the Aion 2 development team in previous online broadcasts. Aion 2 PD So In-seop had repeatedly emphasized, "There is no way to make money other than through memberships and cosmetics." NCSoft co-CEO Park Byung-mo also stated during the November earnings conference call that they were "not using a monetization structure with aggressive spending, but rather a user-friendly BM."

Some users, after checking the initial product list for Aion 2, reacted sharply, saying, "They said there was no gacha, but they are selling essential materials—it's just wordplay," "The 'friendly' BM was just bait, and they showed their true colors in one day," "If the Book of Souls is essential for skill leveling, how is this any different from Lineage? Remove the package immediately and make it obtainable in-game."

In response, Aion 2 Business Director So In-seop and PD Kim Nam-jun held an emergency livestream at 3:00 PM to apologize to users and announce that the items would be removed. An emergency maintenance was scheduled for 4:30 PM on the 19th to remove the items, and users will be compensated with 100 Combat Enhancement Scrolls and 50 Books of Souls.

During the broadcast, Development PD Kim Nam-jun explained, "We included the Combat Enhancement Scrolls and the Book of Souls (in the packages) because we thought users would have a hard time playing (if we removed them from the Quna shop), and it was intended to provide benefits when purchasing cosmetic items." He added, "I am sorry for being short-sighted."

However, this explanation leaves room for doubt. If they believed players would struggle without these items in the Quna shop, they could have sold them for Kinah (in-game free currency) or at general stores. Furthermore, most cosmetic items in the shop are sold individually and do not include Combat Enhancement Scrolls or Books of Souls. Therefore, the explanation that they "intended to provide benefits when purchasing outfits" is not convincing.

Although they withdrew the items and apologized, NCSoft is once again failing to live up to user trust by failing to keep their promises at launch and consistently providing unconvincing explanations and excuses.