A little over a week after release, Ace Combat 8 Wings of Theve (no, there's no 'i' missing) has already shifted more than a million copies worldwide. A tidy start for Bandai Namco's game, which has just posted the biggest launch in the franchise's history. Bandai Namco announced the news on its social channels, thanking players around the world for their support. And sales aren't the only thing putting a smile on the Japanese publisher's face: with an average of 87/100 on Metacritic (and a user score of 8.7/10), Ace Combat 8 is also the second best-reviewed entry in the series, just behind Ace Combat 4 Shattered Skies. A strong start on every front, then, even if we'll have to wait a while longer to find out whether the game can become the franchise's biggest commercial success.
The Ace Combat formula is firing on all cylinders
But how do you explain a start like this? For brand director Kazutoki Kono, the series has an advantage its rivals can't replicate overnight: 30 years of experience. In an interview with VGC earlier this year, he acknowledged that there are more aerial combat games out there than you might think, including from indie developers. But Ace Combat has had the time to build its own identity, with its narrative approach, its technical chops and, of course, the sheer number of aircraft to fly. And above all, the series isn't just about stringing dogfights together in the sky: every entry sets out to take the player on a genuine adventure, overcoming ever-tougher situations on the way to becoming an exceptional pilot. It's precisely that narrative, heroic dimension — even if it can be a touch heavy-handed at times — that sets Ace Combat apart from so many other games in the genre, giving its missions a weight that goes beyond the aerial scrap itself.
Either way, Ace Combat 8 Wings of Theve is off to a flying start. Now we'll have to see how far it can go, but Bandai Namco can already take some pleasure in having delivered the fastest launch in its franchise's history. Ace Combat 8 Wings of Theve (still not a typo) is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
