After more than six years, Project Aces finally revealed Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, the next title in the long-running flight combat franchise. It’s out later this year with more details still to come, but it seems that a few bits have leaked courtesy of updates to the game’s SteamDB listing.
As outlined by Ace Combat Wiki (via Ikcatcher), references to Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War have been added. On the surface, this is interesting because it only ever launched on the PlayStation 2 back in 2006, so a contemporary port may be on the way. The fact that it’s part of Ace Combat 8’s listing may point towards its availability as a pre-order bonus.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Bandai Namco has offered such benefits, much less in the Ace Combat franchise. Pre-orders for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, for instance, included a copy of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
However, that’s not all. A closed network test is also seemingly on the cards for Ace Combat Online, which could be Ace Combat 8’s online PvP mode. While these updates don’t indicate a release timing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see an update at a major showcase like State of Play (rumored for the week of February 12th).
Another launch option included is a SteamOS launch for “ACZero”.AC8’s install directory is listed as “RUKBAT”, which… we don’t know what that means. It could be a codename for the game, referencing a star in the Sagittarius constellation, but we’re not sure.
— Ace Combat Wiki (@acecombat.wiki) 2026-01-31T08:02:51.929Z
