Bandai Namco Entertainment announced that *ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE* has surpassed 1 million copies sold worldwide, marking the fastest sales milestone in the series’ history.
Reaching 1 Million Copies Faster Than Any Other Title in the Series; Commemorative Wallpaper Released to Express Gratitude
This title is the latest installment in the “Ace Combat” series, a flight shooter featuring aerial combat in fighter jets.
The announcement that the game had surpassed 1 million copies sold—the fastest in the series—was made on the series’ official X account. As a token of gratitude to players worldwide, a commemorative wallpaper featuring the popular character Tasha is available for download on the series’ portal site, and the company has also indicated its intention to continue rolling out updates.
The game officially launched on October 2, with early access available to Deluxe Edition purchasers starting September 29. It reached this milestone just one week after its official release.
On October 2, the official release date for the PC version, the game recorded a peak of 37,214 concurrent users. However, perhaps due to reports of crashes on some PC systems during early access, the game’s global user reviews initially remained at “Somewhat Positive.”
Subsequently, in the weekly Top 100 Sales chart (September 29–October 6) released by Steam on October 6, the game ranked 3rd overall and took 1st place among non-free-to-play titles.As of October 7, 80% of user reviews across all languages were positive, and the game’s rating has risen to “Very Positive” (as of October 9, the positive rating stands at 81%).
Additionally, regarding the Steam version—where the pre-order bonus, the ported version of *Ace Combat Zero*, is treated as DLC for the main game—post-launch measures are underway, including consideration of making it a standalone title.
Reviews Call It “A Masterpiece Representing 2026”; Metascore Ranks Second Highest in Series History
In its review, Game*Spark praised the game as “a masterpiece representing 2026 that fully explores difficult themes” and awarded it a score of 9. Regarding the story depicting the Republic of Sotoa’s war of aggression, the review commended the game for not shying away from the weighty questions inherent in a military-themed title and for providing answers.
On the other hand, the review also pointed out that there were moments where the series’ traditional format of a silent protagonist felt limiting.
"ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE" is now available for PS5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
*UPDATE (October 9, 2026, 4:00 PM): Images have been replaced with official artwork.
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