Research & Development Guide

Explore the Research & Development aspects of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Learn about aircraft, gameplay mechanics, and the development team behind the game.

More information for this article is pending an upcoming release.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is an upcoming arcade combat flight shooter game, developed by Bandai Namco Aces and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Set to release in 2026, Wings of Theve will be the 18th game in the Ace Combat franchise and the ninth game in the "Numbered Series," following Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Wings of Theve will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows via Steam).

Wings of Theve's single-player campaign is set in 2029 in the Strangereal universe. Players take control of " Rex," a pilot in the Federation of Central Usea (FCU)'s navy, during a conflict between the FCU and the Republic of Sotoa.

The game's campaign marks the first in-game appearances of both the FCU and Sotoa. Prior to Wings of Theve, the FCU had only been mentioned in ancillary material; most notably, it served as the core of the Independent State Allied Forces, the protagonist force in Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, but the country itself had never properly appeared in a major capacity in any of the games. In a similar vein, Sotoa's only prior appearance had been on the world map, and had never been mentioned in any games or ancillary material.

Wings of Theve will also feature cross-platform multiplayer, including some form of co-op, but no further details are available. Producer Manabu Shimomoto described it as "an online mode that's the biggest in the series." Unlike its predecessor, Wings of Theve does not feature support for virtual reality.