Project Aces has issued an apology to Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve players on Steam regarding the insufficient launch options for the Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War modern port that came bundled as a pre-order bonus. The devs are currently discussing the matter with their platform partners and looking into alternative launch options.
As of now, The Belkan War can only be played on Steam by installing and launching Ace Combat 8. Due to the main game’s large file size (which requires at least 150GB of free space), some players were unhappy about there being no way to install and play Ace Combat Zero on its own. Meanwhile. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players don’t have this issue, as The Belkan War is a DLC executable file that, once downloaded, can be launched as a standalone game on consoles. This discrepancy between platforms further fueled player dissatisfaction.
The developers apologized for any confusion and frustration caused by their failure to communicate how the port works in advance. In response to player feedback, they are “currently evaluating possible options, including discussions with platform partners.” As a disclaimer, the devs said that there is no guarantee that changes will be made to the Steam version of The Belkan War.
That being said, even if the launch issue is resolved, it’s important to note that this does not mean that Ace Combat Zero will be made available as a separate purchase on Steam or consoles. As explained by the devs during the final Ace Combat 8 Information Bureau livestream, the reason behind The Belkan War’s exclusivity as a pre-order bonus lies in relevant licenses with jet manufacturers having expired. While the game is 20 years old, Project Aces was granted permission to distribute it as a pre-order bonus, as it fell within the scope of the contracts. However, the contracts did not cover the game being sold as a standalone title at a later date, hence its exclusion from online and physical stores.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is now available for Windows (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X❘S.
Ace Combat 8’s Season 1 to include playable Pac-Man and Galaga among other Namco classics
