{"id":73165,"date":"2026-09-30T16:50:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T07:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=73165"},"modified":"2026-09-30T16:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T07:50:48","slug":"ace-combat-zero-the-belkan-wars-modern-port-cant-be-sold-separately-due-to-fighter-jet-licenses-expiring-devs-explain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/ace-combat-zero-the-belkan-wars-modern-port-cant-be-sold-separately-due-to-fighter-jet-licenses-expiring-devs-explain\/","title":{"rendered":"Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War\u2019s modern port can\u2019t be sold separately due to fighter jet licenses expiring, devs explain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amidst dissatisfaction about the modern port of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War being distributed exclusively as a pre-order bonus for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve<\/strong>, Bandai Namco Entertainment recently made a statement explaining the circumstances behind the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the final Ace Combat 8 Information Bureau livestream<\/a> held on September 28, the developers at Project Aces explained that they are unable to sell Ace Combat Zero\u2019s port as a standalone title due to relevant licensing agreements with jet manufacturers expiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason Ace Combat games are able to feature real-life fighter jets is because of licenses granted by their respective manufacturers. Sales of each title are conducted based on the scope of the licenses, which includes how and when they can be sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it has been some time since The Belkan War\u2019s original 2006 release on the PlayStation 2, Bandai Namco Entertainment was granted permission from respective jet manufacturers to distribute the game as a pre-order bonus, as this fell within the scope of their contracts. However, the contracts do not cover the game being sold separately at a later date, hence its exclusion from online and physical stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The devs clarified that they\u2019re \u201cnot doing this to be mean\u201d and encouraged those eager to play The Belkan War port to pre-order Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Fans have until before October 2 to pick up the digital edition for the pre-order bonuses (which includes The Belkan War and the F-14A playable jet), while only first-run physical editions of the game will include the pre-order codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is scheduled to release on October 2 for Windows (Steam<\/a>), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X\u2758S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve dev asks players not to spoil the game and, oddly enough, extends the warning to the 20-year-old Ace Combat Zero<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ace Combat 8\u2019s Season 1 to include playable Pac-Man and Galaga among other Namco classics<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 20-year-old game will be distributed exclusively as a pre-order bonus for AC8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":73174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-09-30T07:50:54+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mwpubkltyw2n","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mwpubkltyw2n\",\"cid\":\"bafyreic5zgqmj7k3twggcps2zuzvhddnvjaeee2krnnbigdyaxgp3u4xj4\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreic32yote5gnx2prk4jtpge57i52r4tnin45vadj4dayfiap2wkfea\",\"rev\":\"3mwpubkm3sw2n\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-73165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"\nAce Combat Zero: The Belkan War\u2019s modern port can\u2019t be sold separately due to fighter jet licenses expiring, devs explain - 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