Bandai Namco's Ace Combat 8 reaches record sales milestone

Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has become the fastest-selling entry in the franchise, surpassing one million copies sold in approximately one week. The title has received strong critical reception, holding an 87 rating on Metacritic, making it the second highest-rated game in the series after Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies.

Set in 2029, the game’s narrative follows a conflict where the Republic of Sotoa invades the Federation of Central Usea (FCU). Players take on the role of an officer assuming the identity of a fallen legendary pilot, Jan ‘Rex’ Cope, to maintain morale through propaganda.

On PC, the game reached a peak of 52,694 concurrent players on Steam, significantly outperforming the previous record set by Ace Combat 7. Despite its commercial success, the launch faced some community backlash regarding the clarification of a pre-order bonus, which Bandai Namco has since addressed with an apology.