The long wait is finally over. After teasing it earlier this year when celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ace Combat, Bandai Namco unveiled Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve at tonight’s Game Awards.
Ace Combat 8 will be the 14th title in the long running franchise, and first since Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown in 2019. The trailer for Wings of Theve showcases a team on an aircraft carrier out in the ocean eating, bonding and setting the stage of the team dynamic. It also of course features some impressive aerial combat.
Wings of Theve takes place after the events of Skies Unknown in the year 2029. As per Bandai Namco’s description of Ace Combat 8:
“You’re a fighter pilot, adrift at sea in a rescue boat until the outdated aircraft carrier, Endurance, pulls you aboard. Your homeland’s navy is shattered. The aging vessel, its decks crowded with refugees, has already retreated far from the front lines. It’s July 2029. The Federation of Central Usea (FCU) has fallen under a lightning invasion by the Republic of Sotoa. Most of the nation is occupied, the military is scattered, and the Endurance is just one fragment of what remains. On this ship, you’re given a single name: “Wings of Theve.” A legendary ace, a symbol of hope, a name tied to Theve, the FCU capital. But that legend was a lie, mere propaganda—a story to keep morale alive. Now, you must carry that name and take to the skies again. With three new comrades at your side, fight to reclaim your lost homeland.”
Thanks to an interview from Variety with Bandai Namco CEO Nao Udagawa we know that the studio has really focused on bringing the sky to life in a realistic way with stunning graphics. In the interview Udagawa states:
“The graphics are something that we really, really leaned into heavy for ‘Ace Combat 8’ and visual expression of the sky itself,” Udagawa said. “I think of how the clouds are shown and rendered — I would get different development updates and the developer would show me what the progress is, and every time, wow the sky and the clouds, it’s so amazing, and how it ties into the weather change as well. So I think that’s something the fans are going to really And it is a franchise IP, so certainly the gameplay, I think the fans can know what to expect, so keeping everything that worked really well, but we’re really adding value in the story and the narrative and the sort of cinematic presentation of how it’s delivered. It’s gonna feel like this epic movie that you’ll want to see on a big screen.”
For fans of the series like myself it is also interesting to note that Bandai Namco has opened a new studio, Bandai Namco Aces so that the studio could focus solely on the Ace Combat franchise and run as its own business, significantly speeding up the development cycle of one of the companies biggest titles.
While we don’t have a specific date just yet, we know Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve will launch sometime in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X and PC.
