Ace Combat 8 soars to a record-breaking launch on Steam
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has shattered franchise records on Steam with a peak of over 52,000 concurrent players, marking a major milestone for the traditionally console-first series.
Bandai Namco has a massive hit on its hands. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve officially touched down on October 2 after a brief early access period, and according to data from Eurogamer, it has already shattered franchise records on Steam. The sequel hit a peak of 52,694 concurrent players over its first full weekend, completely eclipsing the high water mark set by its predecessor.
That number is particularly striking given the historical roots of the franchise. Ace Combat has always lived primarily on consoles, and PC ports are a relatively recent experiment for the series. Back in 2019, Ace Combat 7 broke new ground for the franchise on PC with a peak of just under 14,000 concurrent players. The massive jump for Wings of Theve shows just how far the audience has expanded across platforms, supported by overwhelmingly positive reviews from over 5,000 players on Steam so far.
The launch was not entirely without turbulence. Early adopters ran into a frustrating snag regarding the pre-order bonus port of Ace Combat Zero, which required players to boot it through the main game rather than acting as a standalone app as advertised. Bandai Namco has since issued an apology for the unclear store page wording and promised to look into a fix. Despite the minor pre-order confusion, the strong player counts prove that the appetite for arcade flight action is higher than ever.
Tags: PC Gaming, Steam, Ace Combat, Bandai Namco
Original article: Eurogamer