Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Lands in 2026, Powered by Unreal Engine 5

Bandai Namco announced at The Game Awards (TGA) last week that the long-awaited Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve will return after a seven-year hiatus. True to form, Bandai Namco Aces, the team behind every major entry in the series to date, began development of this highly anticipated air combat title in 2020, and we’re in for a great treat when it hits the Sony PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PCs in 2026.

You jump right into the cockpit, playing a pilot who is rescued from the water by the Endurance, an old but still gallant aircraft carrier loaded with survivors of a fleet in shambles after a crushing defeat. We’re talking about the Federation of Central Usea, a country currently under the control of the powerful Republic of Sotoa. As a pilot with the callsign Wings of Theve, a name associated with the occupied capital and a rallying cry for all those fighting to reclaim their homeland, you take command of a group of three other pilots, and their mission is to begin reclaiming that critical airspace with all of the force at your disposal. Sunao Katabuchi, the man behind the narratives for Ace Combat 4, 5, and 7, returns to spin a battle-hardened tale about the ties that form when you’re in a difficult place, as well as the weight of duty that comes with being in command.

When you’re in Campaign mode, the action comes thick and fast, with missions that gradually grow in size as well as intensity. Don’t be shocked if you spend some time dodging and weaving through storms, clinging to terrain for shelter, or firing all of your missiles to destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible with the very real jets you’ll be flying. Multiplayer is also included, with the opportunity to compete against other players, though we’ll have to wait for additional information on that mode.

You can expect some really next-level visuals, courtesy of Unreal Engine 5 (with some extremely interesting effects thanks of Cloudly, the new clouds system that allows them to alter in the backdrop simply by flying by at different heights, as well as reacting to your exact flying methods). Meanwhile, one of the dogfight locations spans an impressive 10,000 square kilometers, and the best part is that you can wing it (if you’ll excuse the pun) without breaking a sweat, waiting for the game to load, or avoiding any artificial impediments. Weather also plays a key role, as you must account for rain or fog in your own flying, which adds a whole new level of unpredictability, while the terrain becomes more defined, ensuring you understand what a ‘low flyover’ means.

A real-time first-person view, which is immersive in its own right, really gets intriguing when it comes to cinematics. So, the next time you need to take a closer look at the cockpit activity, simply shift your gaze to one side to see what the other pilots are up to, or to get a good look at a distant explosion. These down-to-earth moments will immerse you in the game’s environment, transforming what would have been a passive experience into an active one, complete with times where you get a glimpse into the lives of these faux pilots.

Meanwhile, producer Manabu Shimomoto has stated that what the team truly hopes to achieve with this game is that core rush of adrenaline as you’re in the thick of it, flying over the skies, tearing through the skies in your fighter, outfoxing the enemy, and rising through the ranks, with every death-defying move you make weaving a tale that just keeps you wanting more.

Mind you, with a game as popular as Ace Combat 7 selling over 6 million copies worldwide and now hitting the Switch, we can claim that this series is far from losing steam. Wings of Theve builds on all of that fine work, never forgetting the foundations on which the series was built in the first place, but adding its own unique perspective to the table.