After a seven year wait, Bandai Namco’s classic aerial combat series will return in 2026 with Ace Combat 8

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is releasing in 2026, publisher Bandai Namco has revealed. The game, coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, was announced during last night’s The Game Awards.

It’s been seven years since Ace Combat 7 (and JPEG dog – if you know, you know), so this next entry is being developed on Unreal Engine 5 for the first time. Bandai Namco is promising an “emotionally charged” campaign, plus multiplayer modes, although firm details won’t arrive until next year.

The first trailer for Ace Combat 8 can be viewed below:

In the campaign players will take on the role of an ace pilot (are there any fighter pilots who aren’t ace?) in the fictitious Strangereal, with a fairly classic sounding plot that sees you fighting against the odds alongside three new pilots. Will you be able to be able to live up to the hopes of the people of the Federation of Central Usea? I assume yes, as it won’t feel very heroic otherwise!

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown released on PS4 and Xbox One back on 18th January, 2019. A PC version arrived two weeks later in February, while a Switch port was released onto Nintendo’s hybrid console on 11th July, 2024.