Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown launched in 2019 and was a genuine return to form after a difficult period for the series. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve arrives October 2, 2026. Here is what has changed and whether the gap matters to you.
Side by side
| Ace Combat 7 (2019) | Ace Combat 8 (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Strangereal | Strangereal |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 | Unreal Engine 5, with proprietary tech for cloud rendering |
| Platforms | PS4, Xbox One, PC | PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC |
| Aircraft | A large roster across fighter and multi-role types | More than 30, including electronic warfare aircraft |
| Story | Campaign in the series' operatic tradition | Written by Sunao Katabuchi; identity and duty, with information warfare as a theme |
| New elements | — | A squadron command layer during missions; Land Battleship set pieces |
| Price | Long-discounted and cheap | Full price at launch |
What is genuinely new
Two things stand out from what has been shown. The first is a squadron command layer — directing allies during missions rather than simply flying alongside them, which is a structural addition rather than a cosmetic one. The second is the cloud rendering technology Bandai Namco has branded for this entry, which matters more than it sounds: clouds are where Ace Combat's sense of speed and scale lives, and Ace Combat 7 made a great deal of them.
The information-warfare framing in the story is also new territory for the series, which has historically dealt in more conventional wartime melodrama.
Do you need to play 7 first?
No. Strangereal entries are self-contained stories in a shared world, and the series has never required chronological play. Ace Combat 8 is a reasonable first entry.
That said, Ace Combat 7 is cheap, roughly 12 to 15 hours, and one of the better entries in the series. If you want to know whether you like Ace Combat before spending full price on a new one, playing 7 is the cheapest possible way to find out and it is a good game in its own right.
What has not changed
What works
- It is still arcade flight action, not a simulator, and it is unapologetic about that
- The tone is still operatic, earnest and completely committed
- It still plays best on a controller — see the HOTAS question
- Strangereal is still the setting, so the world knowledge carries
What doesn't
- If arcade flight is not for you, a new engine will not change that
- The series' storytelling style is divisive and remains so
- No reviews of Ace Combat 8 exist at time of writing
- Ace Combat 7 remains on previous-generation platforms rather than being reissued