Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has seemingly become a commercial success for Bandai Namco and Project Aces, selling over 1 million units. After launching worldwide on October 2nd (with advanced access starting on September 30th), it’s the fastest title in the series to reach that milestone. Its predecessor, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, reached 2 million shipments and digital sales in June 2020 after launching in January 2019.
“We express our gratitude to all the ace pilots around the world and will continue to release updates to ensure you keep enjoying the game, so please continue to support us!” said the development team on Twitter.
The success follows extensive critical praise for the sequel, which currently holds an 87 Metascore based on 65 reviews. Despite a troubled Steam launch with crashes, limited flight-stick support and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War not being playable on its own (which could change), it currently holds an 80 percent “Very Positive” rating. None of this stopped it from becoming the series’ biggest launch on the platform, peaking at over 52,000 concurrent players.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is also available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Check out our review here, where we scored it a 9 for its storytelling, setting, characters and, of course, the aerial combat. Project Aces will release new aircraft and support Ace Combat Online, the separate multiplayer mode, with new seasons and other content, so stay tuned.
