AION 2's Gamescom 2026 Demo: Pets You Collect Like Pokémon, Customization Rivals Black Desert, Raids That Split in Two

The demo built around a pet system AION 2 senior producer Andrew Long jokingly called a 'disaster' because making essentially every mob into a possible pet burned more manpower than anyone planned — but the team stayed 'headstrong about seeing through' the idea.

More than 200 pets are available. Rather than looting defeated mobs, players can turn them into companions. The range runs from a cute little bunny to a giant eldritch beast that carries you around town on its back or in a coffin.

Players can also transform into monsters during fights and use their abilities — not shown in the demo build itself, but confirmed by the team as a playable path.

For a game launching free-to-play, the pet system doubles as both collection content and an emotional hook; for MMO veterans, it is AION 2's most visible signal of how much production the sequel can afford over the original.

The character creator was the feature the reviewer said he would 'spend as much time making his character as he does playing.' The team drew explicit inspiration from Black Desert Online, and the demo delivered accordingly.

Options include hair dye with adjustable ombre length, blush placement on cheeks, and a deep stack of further tweaks. Multiple classes cover the classic holy trinity of Tank, DPS, and Heals, so identity is not just cosmetic.

Wings — the feature carried over from the original AION — remain a key visual and functional status symbol, unlocked through milestones and gameplay.

Raids support 10 players while dungeons support 5. At the start, all 10 fight together; then the group splits into two parties of five to tackle different bosses simultaneously.

Both groups reunite for the final boss, which MMORPG.com flagged as a 'unique twist' — a design the team appears to want repeated, given how prominently it was featured.

The 10-vs-5 scaling, paired with dungeons at 5, keeps groups compact enough for the kind of aerial PVE the franchise is built around.

The reviewer described combat as 'fast-paced compared to other games in the genre.' Boss fights demand constant attention — 'every other second, a new attack was flying your way,' with narrow windows for counter-attacks.

Wings are not decorative: they serve defensive uses (avoiding attacks) and offensive ones (aerial combat). Monster transformation sits on top of this as a layer for burst and utility.

For players coming in expecting AION-era combat, the pace reads like a meaningful step forward; for players expecting a slow traditional MMO, it is worth noting up front.

NetEase — co-publisher alongside NCSoft — provided travel and accommodation to Gamescom, a signal of the level of investment the West-facing push is now receiving.

Combined with the confirmed October 5 global launch, the completed stress test, and the pre-launch headstart already discussed on the Massively OP Podcast, the demo closes the gap between 'roadmap date' and 'a game you can already see and touch.'

Notably absent from the floor build was monster transformation in action — a feature confirmed but not shown, which the demo leaves as a tease rather than a fully explained system.