Aion 2's policy lets NCSoft delete characters after six months of inactivity. Find out more details about the inactivity clause and how players reacted.
Aion 2 Reserves the Right to Delete Inactive Characters to Improve Service
Inactive Legion Masters May Also Lose Their Status
Aion 2 could permanently delete characters for players inactive for six months, according to its official operating policy. Under Section 7, titled "Long-Term Inactive Account Policy," the company reserves the right to delete character information from accounts that have not logged into the game for at least six months and whose paid-service usage period has ended.
While NCSoft hasn’t clarified what counts as paid-service usage, it most likely refers to the optional monthly membership currently priced at $14.99 per month. The company hasn’t said whether other premium purchases protect against account deletion too, such as its Battle Pass and one-time purchases.
NCSoft says account deletion aims to "improve the service and ensure the smooth operation of the game." Furthermore, it also states that affected characters and their names cannot be restored, although players must be given advance notice of any scheduled deletion.
This policy also applies to Legions, the game's guild system, as NCSoft may revoke an inactive Legion Master's management authority and transfer it to another character. Another Legion member can request this if the Legion Master has been inactive for at least 30 days or received a game suspension lasting 90 days or longer.
Deletion May Happen, But It Isn’t Guaranteed
Unsurprisingly, the policy has sparked concern among Aion 2 players on forums like Reddit, especially those worried about losing hundreds of hours of progression simply for taking an extended break. Some argued that six months is far too short for an MMORPG, where players frequently return after years away. Others questioned why characters should be deleted at all when players have invested so much time and potentially money in them.
In contrast, other players were less concerned, pointing out that the company says it may delete inactive characters, not that it will delete them after exactly six months. The clause is also nothing new for NCSoft, which has similar policies across its other MMORPGS, including Throne and Liberty, Lineage II, and the original Aion. In particular, Throne and Liberty has nearly identical conditions, including the six-month inactivity clause and the one protecting users until the end of their paid service.
Previously, NCSoft has given notice during inactivity purges. As MMORPG news site MassivelyOP reported, Aion NA sent emails announcing that characters who hadn’t logged on since January 2020 would be purged later, which a moderator later confirmed on their Discord. The mod said freeing up more than fifteen years of character data would speed up maintenance, performance, and load times. Fortunately, some players who missed the email announcement were able to recover their characters through support.
Ultimately, how NCSoft enforces this policy matters more than the policy itself. Until further announcement, players going on extended breaks should remember to log in every five months to protect their hard-earned characters. For more details on the game, check out our full review of Aion 2:
Sources:
Aion 2 Operational Policy
Character Deletion Discussion
PSA: Aion NA is deleting characters that haven’t logged in since 2020
User Reports Lost Aion Characters
