Ace Combat 8 developers explain why no other flight shooter can match 30 years of storytelling depth

After the success of Ace Combat 7, more eyes are on the legacy dog-fighting series than at any time in its history.

The team behind the next entry, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, is well aware of the unique pressure that presents after 30 years of flying.

“With Ace Combat 7, we acquired a lot of new fans and new players because it was received very well,” Manabu Shimomoto, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve producer, told me at a world-first hands-on event that took place last month.

“Prior to that, a lot of the players tended to be somebody interested in aircraft already or who was very interested in the flight shooting genre, but the new fans didn’t really necessarily belong to that group; therefore, we have a much more wide-ranging audience.”

I suggested to the developers that it’s a pretty unique situation to be thinking of such a sliding scale of core players for a franchise that is celebrating its 30th year, when traditionally this is the point where only a hardcore audience would remain as enthusiastic. Shimomoto and Kazutoki Kono, Ace Combat brand director, agreed.

“To cater for newcomers, we have a very comprehensive tutorial and training mode,” Shimomoto said.

“But that is something that we are mindful of going forward as well, to make sure that we provide the content that can be played and enjoyed by a wide-ranging audience.”

During my time with the game, I got to play the opening few missions, getting to grips with the new protagonist and their allies, as well as the stakes of the world. These missions, as alluded to by the developers, felt like a great way for new players to slowly immerse themselves in the world of Ace Combat.

Crucially for veteran players, these early missions can be flown through (pun intended) very quickly en route to the game’s more complex missions. The classic dogfighting experience still feels excellent, as are the game’s visuals.

While some of the missions I played were as simple as chasing down some enemy pilots and turning their planes to scrap metal, others were more involved. There’s air-to-ground combat, battles with enormous ships, and city-wide anti-air weapons to deal with.

Even when the flying is at its best, it’s easy to see how a less inventive game in the genre would quickly run out of steam with monotonous and repetitive missions. Ace Combat 8 is keen to constantly surprise the player with what they’ll be doing next.

Throughout these missions, you’re chatting to your co-pilots, which is a fun, passive way of furthering the story and your connection to them. Occasionally, you’ll get the chance to respond with a dialogue choice, though these interactions are seemingly more to provide colour to the exposition, rather than game-changing story decisions.

“That was set up precisely because it just didn’t feel right not to be able to communicate at all, even though they are flying so close by,” Kono explained. “So to make the interaction seem more natural, that function has been added. But it doesn’t affect the ultimate ending.

“There are slight nuances in the answer, really, because there are some enemies that you don’t necessarily have to fight within the mission, and that applies to some more characters as well. There are some that you don’t necessarily have to interact with as well, so the player has that level of freedom.”

Ace Combat 8: Wings Of Theve stands virtually alone in 2026. So many of the arcade-style games that launched as contemporaries of the Ace Combat series have been relegated to obscurity or the realms of occasional remasters. Ace Combat is basically the only game of its type that can still command such an audience. I asked the game’s leadership team why they thought that was.

“Looking at the current market as of 2026, if you cast your eyes to not only mainstream but independent sectors as well, there are more games in the flight shooter genre than people may think,” Kono told me.

“But what Ace Combat has, and the others don’t, is the accumulated capital that has been acquired over the last 30 years, whether it be storytelling or the knowledge and the depth of breadth of aircraft available – this is something that is very hard to replicate.”

“Additionally, when you look at other flight shooter genres, a lot of them just have you fly and then go into dogfights. Whereas for the Ace Combat franchise, it is a hero-making experience that the player will go on to by overcoming challenges to ultimately become the ace pilot. So there is this very clear aim that really makes it completely different for the players.”

The Ace Combat series began in 1995 as a launch title for the PlayStation in North America. Named Air Combat in the West and Ace Combat in Japan, the game was a port of a popular Namco arcade title.

Since then, the series has sold over 20 million copies, with the last game in the series, Ace Combat 7, selling over 7 million copies alone.

While it’s set in a fictional world full of offbeat characters, it’s still a military story using real-world hardware. Plenty of video games warn that their war stories aren’t based on actual events, but for a public that has become used to seeing multiple different wars livestreamed across social media every day, it’s becoming difficult to compartmentalise.

The countries in Ace Combat’s world aren’t real, but they’re not Tamriel, and real-life analogs aren’t hard to find. While the fictional Strangereal universe of the Ace Combat games is well established, I asked if it becomes more difficult to tell war stories in a modern context, even with this fictional geographic layer.

“So… you’re right,”  Kono replied. “Just to mention, the Ace Combat franchise is firmly rooted in this universe of Strangereal. So it’s a fictional, very non-real universe, but extremely realistic. So anything, any of the nations that’s mentioned, or either political, militant, or religious beliefs expressed, is not based on any real events at all.

“But there are in-depth ongoing discussions that take place amongst the creative team, whether it be visual, narrative, or the reality of what is happening in that Strangereal universe.

“For example, the enemy state for this franchise is Sotoa. We have discussions about the history of that nation, its culture, and what is the reasons, and what is the context of them going into war in this Strangereal universe. Because everything has been discussed and really dug deep, that’s why it seems a lot more believable even in this fictional world.”

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. The game so far feels like a natural continuation of what made the 7th game in the series such a breakout hit. The cast is over the top, but in the heightened realism of the Ace Combat universe, they feel at home.

While the missions I got to play weren’t the most challenging, it’s undeniable how fun it is to cut through the sky at unfathomable speeds. Dogfighting in games can be clumsy – in Ace Combat 8, it’s anything but. The fluid, reactive gameplay paired with the excellent visuals makes for a gameplay experience that’s both thrilling and oddly relaxing. In a year that’s jam-packed with games, fans of the series and new recruits should keep their eyes on the Strangereal skies.