Ace Combat 8 reaches 1 million sales after October 2 release
Bandai Namco says Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve sold about 1 million copies roughly a week after its October 2, 2026 launch.
- The game released on October 2, 2026, and is described in that coverage as the fastest-selling Ace Combat title yet.
- The same coverage places Ace Combat 8 as the second-highest-rated mainline game in the series, with a Metacritic score in the 86 to 88 range.
What happened
Eurogamer reports that Bandai Namco said Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve sold 1 million copies in a short period of time. The publication ties that milestone to roughly one week after the game’s October 2, 2026 release. In the source material provided, that sales milestone is explicitly linked to a publisher statement rather than an independent sales tracker. The official launch trailer’s YouTube description also mentions the same milestone, saying the game has flown past 1 million sales since release “roughly a week ago.”
According to the same reporting, Ace Combat 8 has become the fastest-selling game in the Ace Combat series. The article’s comparison still places Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies at the top of the review rankings, with a Metacritic score of 89. For Ace Combat 8 itself, Eurogamer does not give an exact number, but cites a range of 86 to 88. Another review roundup lists 88, so the precise score in the provided sources is not fully consistent. The available context does suggest the game is close to the series’ historical peak, but its exact position depends on which Metacritic value is used.
The reporting also says Ace Combat 8 posted solid Steam player numbers shortly after launch, although no exact figures are given in the provided text. It also refers to discussion around the PC version of The Belkan War content, since that content reportedly was not available as a separate purchase on PC in the same way as on console. In the same coverage, online modes with a live-service-like structure are mentioned, including co-op PvE, PvPvE, and a social hub, but the provided sources do not include official feature lists or exact mode names.
Timeline
October 2, 2026: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve launches on all platforms.
About a week after release: Bandai Namco says, according to Eurogamer, that the game has reached 1 million sales.
Shortly after launch: the official launch trailer is shared, with the description repeating the 1 million sales milestone.
After launch: coverage calls Ace Combat 8 the fastest-selling title in the series.
After launch: the game is placed in the 86 to 88 Metacritic range in coverage.
In the same comparison: Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies remains the series’ highest scorer in the provided reporting, with 89 on Metacritic.
After release: discussion around The Belkan War content on PC and the mentioned online modes appears in the same coverage, though without full technical details.
Background
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is the latest numbered entry in Bandai Namco’s aerial combat series and was released around the franchise’s 30th anniversary. Official release communication says the game was available on all platforms from October 2, 2026. Bandai Namco’s launch messaging also positioned it as the series’ newest major release, with a Deluxe Edition and a Premium Ace Pass available ahead of launch.
The comparison with Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies matters because the provided reporting names that title as the series’ highest scorer with 89 on Metacritic. Ace Combat 8 comes close to that mark in the same coverage, but the exact score varies slightly across the provided sources. One external review roundup lists 88 on Metacritic for PlayStation 5 and 89 on OpenCritic, while Eurogamer uses a range of 86 to 88. The safest takeaway is that the game scores very highly within the franchise, even if the exact Metacritic number is not fully settled in the provided material.
The sales milestone is also mainly publisher-driven in the available information. The claim of 1 million copies sold comes from a Bandai Namco statement as cited by Eurogamer, and it is repeated in the official launch trailer’s YouTube description. No independent sales source is included in the provided context to confirm the milestone separately. That makes wording such as “Bandai Namco says” or “according to Eurogamer” the most accurate approach.
The additional references to Steam, The Belkan War, and the online modes mainly provide launch context, but the provided sources do not include hard numbers or fully detailed feature descriptions. As a result, those points remain secondary to the two clearly supported facts: the October 2, 2026 release and Bandai Namco’s reported 1 million sales milestone.
Related GAME-scanner articles
Sources
- Eurogamer: report on Ace Combat 8’s sales milestone and review score
- Bandai Namco / official Ace Combat communication on the October 2, 2026 release
- Metacritic references for Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve