Ace Combat is one of Bandai Namco’s oldest series, making its debut 30 years ago on the original PlayStation. Over that time there’s been seven mainline entries, various spinoffs, and even a tie-in novel. Since the game’s inception it has iterated on its arcade style flight mechanics providing just enough realistic elements but ensuring that gameplay remains fun for anyone to pick up and play.
That being said, the last entry in the mainline series, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown released in 2019 and now almost seven years on from then, one of the biggest surprises of the Game Awards 2025 was the announcement that the latest installment, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is real and will be releasing some time in 2026.
Ace Combat 8 Soars onto Consoles and PC At Some Point in 2026
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve began development in 2021 and is a co-production between Bandai Namco Aces and ILCA using Unreal Engine 5. The action-packed trailer focuses on a hot shot pilot who forms part of the Wings of Theve crew as their missions unveil a greater plot happening in the world of StrangeReal. The Wings of Theve are named after the capital of the Federation of Central Usea, the heroes home base in this adventure.
According to Bandai Namco, Ace Combat 8 will feature a deep campaign mode intertwined with improved graphics and its accustomed flight shooting gameplay. They also promise multiplayer modes to be revealed at a later date.
Certainly, Ace Combat 8 promises to deliver a great mix of action and high-powered graphics whenever it releases in 2026. The game is currently planned for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Although there’s no mention of Nintendo Switch 2 at this time, considering that Ace Combat 7 came to the original Switch just last year, maybe a Switch 2 version will come at a later date as well.
So, maybe find that HOTAS that you picked up for Ace Combat 7, and is currently gathering dust.
Source: Bandai Namco
