Former Amazon Games Studios Exec To Lead Western Publishing Of Aion 2

It seems the next installment in the Aion franchise is still on track to launch this year. NCSoft revealed the latest development on the path to the game’s eventual release today, announcing that former Amazon Game Studios Regional Franchise Leader Mervin Lee Kwai is joining the company and will be overseeing the global launch of the upcoming MMORPG Aion 2. He will also take charge of existing titles like the original Aion, Blade & Soul, and Lineage II.

According to the press release for NCSoft, the CEO of NC America, Jeonghee “JJ” Jin, stated that Lee Kwai’s “particular blend of game industry executive skills and deep understanding of MMORPGs in the modern market make him the perfect candidate”. Lee Kwai worked on both Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty while at Amazon. The latter means NCSoft is already familiar with how Lee Kwai works.

Amazon isn’t the only MMO developer Lee Kwai has worked with. He’s also worked on projects at Sony Online Entertainment and Trion Worlds. During his time at Sony Online Entertainment, he was the Executive Producer for ArcheAge and Trove. At SOE, he held the positions of Project Manager Localization for Dragon’s Prophet, Wizardry Online, PlanetSide 2, and DC Universe Online, and Project Manager for Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

Now that things seem to be moving along, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, is changed for the global version of the game. About four months ago, NCSoft announced the monetization plans for the game, which kind of boiled down to free-to-play with two optional subs. The plan wasn’t exactly met with excitement.