Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is out now for everyone. After a three-day head start for Deluxe Edition owners, Bandai Namco and Project Aces opened the standard release on October 2 across PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, where the base game sells for $69.99 on Steam. It is the first new numbered entry in the series since Ace Combat 7 in 2019, and it arrives with a fresh campaign, the franchise's first proper online hub, and a short list of launch-week problems that the developer has already started addressing in public.
What you get in the box
The campaign puts you back in the Strangereal universe as a pilot of the Federation of Central Usea, flying as Joker 1. Project Aces leans harder on its characters this time: between sorties, first-person cinematics play out on the flight line and in the hangar, and the game frames your squadron mates as people you build relationships with rather than voices on the radio. The flying itself stays in the arcade lane the series is known for, with fast missile-heavy dogfights, multi-layered cloudscapes you can dive through, and special weapons you pick before each sortie.
Difficulty is selectable up front, and Bandai Namco has published a guide on picking the right level, a sign the publisher expects plenty of newcomers. The Deluxe Edition adds a Customizable Cosmetic Set and a Premium Ace Pass Plus voucher on top of the base game; the cosmetic set is also sold separately for $9.99.
Ace Combat Online is the big new piece
The headline addition is Ace Combat Online, which Bandai Namco calls the most expansive multiplayer mode in the series. Rather than dropping you into a menu, it opens on an air base you walk around with a custom avatar, a first for Ace Combat. From there you queue into online missions, including co-op sorties, with cross-platform play.
The PC version needs real hardware
Anyone planning to play on PC should check the requirements before buying. Ace Combat 8 needs an SSD, a graphics card with hardware ray tracing, DirectX 12 with Shader Model 6.6 or newer, Windows 11, and 150GB of free space.
- Minimum: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, 16GB RAM, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB) or Radeon RX 6600 XT (8GB). Bandai Namco's own estimate for this tier is 1080p with upscaling at 30fps on Low settings.
- Recommended: Intel Core i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 32GB RAM, GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB) or Radeon RX 6800 (16GB), for 1080p with upscaling at 60fps on Medium.
Those are modest targets for hardware at that level, so PC players with older cards should set expectations accordingly. The publisher also warns that framerates may dip in graphically heavy scenes.
Launch-week issues the team has acknowledged
During the early access window the Ace Combat team posted a run of notices on Steam, and anyone picking the game up today should know about them.
PC crashes. Bandai Namco confirmed reports of unexpected crashes in the Steam version and says the team is investigating. In the meantime it recommends running the graphics driver version the game suggests at launch, keeping at least 16GB free on the SSD the game is installed on, and making sure Windows virtual memory is turned on.
Flight sticks. Some of the device configuration options that Ace Combat 7 offered for HOTAS and flight stick setups are not in Ace Combat 8. The team apologized and says it is working to bring the experience closer to its predecessor's, but warned that the changes may take time.
Online disconnects. Error code ST-3100001 means the game has lost contact with the server during Ace Combat Online. The suggested fix is to sync the Windows clock and try again.
The Ace Combat Zero bonus. The pre-order bonus, Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, is not a standalone app on Steam; it is delivered through Ace Combat 8 itself. Bandai Namco says licensing and platform restrictions prevent a separate release, apologized for not making that clear before launch, and says it is in talks with platform partners about alternatives. It stresses that no change is guaranteed.
Should you jump in now?
On console, the picture is straightforward: the game is out, the campaign and online mode are both available, and none of the acknowledged issues are console-specific. On PC, it is worth a look at the hardware list and at whether a stability patch has landed before committing, especially if you fly with a stick. Either way, this is the first new Ace Combat in more than seven years, and from today nobody needs the Deluxe Edition to play it.
