It seems that the next installment in the Aion series is scheduled to be released later this year. NCSoft today revealed the latest developments towards the game’s final release, announcing that former Amazon Game Studios regional franchise head Mervin Lee Kwai is joining the company and will oversee the global launch of the upcoming MMORPG Aion 2. He will also take responsibility for existing titles such as the original Aion, Cuchilla & Soul and Lineage II.

According to NCSoft’s press release, NC America CEO Jeonghee “JJ” Jin stated that Lee Kwai’s “special blend of gaming industry leadership 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 during his time at Amazon. The latter means that NCSoft is already familiar with how Lee Kwai works.

Amazon isn’t the only MMO developer Lee Kwai has worked with. He has also worked on projects at Sony Online Entertainment and Trion Worlds. During his time at Sony Online Entertainment, he was an executive producer for ArcheAge and Trove. At SOE, he was localization project manager for Dragon’s Prophet, Wizardry Online, PlanetSide 2 and DC Universe Online, as well as project manager for Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

Now that things are moving forward, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, changes for the global version of the game. About four months ago, NCSoft announced the monetization plans for the game, which basically amounted to a free game with two optional subscriptions. The plan wasn’t exactly met with enthusiasm.