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Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Tops One Million Sales, the Fastest in Series History

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Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve Tops One Million Sales, the Fastest in Series History
Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has passed one million copies sold worldwide, publisher Bandai Namco announced on October 8. It got there faster than any other game in the series’ 30-year history. The flight-combat sequel launched in early October on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC through Steam, so the milestone took roughly a week.

Trailer ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE - Launch Trailer · Video: XBOX

Bandai Namco is celebrating with a free 4K wallpaper on the game’s official website, and with a quiet brag: Wings of Theve is now the second-best-reviewed Ace Combat ever on aggregate sites. Only Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies from 2001 ranks higher.

Why it matters

Ace Combat has always been a cult favorite rather than a blockbuster, and the gap between numbered entries is long. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown arrived in 2019, so Wings of Theve had to win back lapsed fans and reach new players. Selling a million in its first week or so suggests it did both. It’s a strong result for a full-price $69.99 release in a crowded October.

Player reception backs up the critics. On Steam, Wings of Theve sits at Very Positive, with about 81% of more than 16,000 user reviews recommending it.

What’s new in Ace Combat 8

Developer Bandai Namco Aces (the Project Aces team) built this entry around three pillars:

  • A character-driven campaign. Missions are framed by first-person cutscenes that tell your pilot’s story, with squadmates you bond with between sorties and “hard choices” along the way.
  • Bigger skies. Dynamic, multi-layered cloudscapes are back and more elaborate, and they’re as much a tactical tool as scenery.
  • Ace Combat Online. The series’ first online lobby lets you walk around an air base with a custom avatar before jumping into co-op missions and competitive modes, with cross-platform play.

What’s next

Bandai Namco hasn’t announced post-launch plans beyond the milestone itself. Previous entries got DLC aircraft and missions after launch, so watch for news on that front. If you’re still deciding, Wings of Theve is one of the bigger releases on our complete list of October 2026 games.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report

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