Bandai Namco released an extensive overview of the multiplayer of the upcoming flight shooting game Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve.
We get to see the PvE mode “Co-Op Assault,” in which two teams of four players compete for the high score while fighting against AI forces.
The PvPvE mode “Co-Op Warfare” mixes things up by letting the two teams engage each other, while players can increase their threat level to increase the points they score. That being said, when their threat level is high, they also become point piñatas for the enemy.
There are also special missions like Scramble, which lets a team of four players fight against an elite NPC squadron, while Emergency Sortie prompts a team of eight to bring down massive superweapons from the series.
Limited-time missions also appear for PvP, with 4 v 4 team battles and 8-player deathmatches.
We also get to see the Air Base, which is basically a massive lobby with social aspects, shops (which work with currency earned in-game), jukeboxes, team training modes, and more. You can explore it with your customized avatar.
Lastly, we take a brief look at the Ace Passes, which last two months and include both basic and premium branches. All aircraft DLC included in the premium Ace Pass will be available for purchase separately after the end of the season.
You can check it all out below.
As a bonus, you can also enjoy a commercial from Japan. If you’re wondering, the man looking back at the flight attendant at the beginning is Brand Director Kazutoki Kono.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve will release on October 2, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, following the announcement from a few months ago. If you want to see more, you can check out a developer diary, an action-packed trailer, an extensive gameplay reveal, the characters, plenty more gameplay, and a look at some of the fighters included in the game.
It’s the latest installment of the popular Ace Combat franchise, which culminated a few years ago with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which has broken all sales records for the series by shipping over 7 million units, after a period in which it remained dormant.
If you’d like to read more flight simulation news (yes, we consider Ace Combat a flight simulator-lite here, and you can’t convince us otherwise), you can find plenty in our latest roundup article from yesterday.
If you want to go further back, we have a handy overview video of the major flight simulation news in the past week. You can watch it below. As usual, leaving a like and a comment and subscribing to our growing YouTube channel is extremely helpful.
While Simulation Daily is owned and financed by Orbx Simulation Systems, its staff is afforded full editorial independence and will strive to cover products from all companies and developers impartially. Check out our editorial policy.
