Bandai Namco Entertainment has released a Steam port of *Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War* as a standalone application, and the game now supports Steam achievements.
Background
This port was originally offered as a pre-order bonus for the latest entry in the series, *Ace Combat 8* (*ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE*) (no longer available for purchase). Previously on Steam, players had to install the main game and select it from the launch screen. With this standalone release, pre-order customers can now play the game without downloading the main title.
Due to fighter jet licensing agreements and other factors, there are no plans to sell this title separately. On Steam, it was initially provided as a DLC executable file that launched separately from the main game, and users had pointed out the inconvenience and confusion caused by the inability to launch it on its own.
On October 13, Bandai Namco announced plans to release it as a standalone app and had been conducting final quality and compatibility testing. This release is a follow-up to that announcement. It was previously reported that save data would be shareable via Steam Cloud.
The Origin of the Series, Where “Ace Style” Determines the Story’s Path
According to the Steam store page, this title tells the story that serves as the origin of the Ace Combat series. It features the “Ace Style Gauge System,” in which the “Ace Style”—a behavioral metric—fluctuates based on the accumulation of “shoot or don’t shoot” decisions made during missions; the Ace Style determines the content of radio communications and the enemy aces you encounter.
