A sequel to the 2008 MMORPG Aion will release globally later this year, 17 years after the original.

Aion 2 will see a global release via Steam, developer NCSoft announced, with servers for North America, South America, Japan, and Europe.

The news comes after Aion 2's launch in South Korea and Taiwan last November to less-than-stellar reviews, with the game's microtransactions being a major point of criticism. While the game is technically free-to-play, it does feature optional subscriptions and pay-to-win mechanics. NCSoft apologized for the game's monetization shortly after launch and vowed to make changes.

What changes NCSoft may make to Aion 2 for its global release are still unclear, though the developer stated in its announcement that more news would be coming in May and it looked forward to answering questions from the game's community.