Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve has gotten off to a rocky start. While players are thoroughly enjoying the game’s gameplay and graphics, one major controversy has emerged that overshadows everything else. We wrote a full synopsis of the Ace Combat 8 controversy, but essentially, PC players were promised that their pre-order would include a separate copy of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
However, at launch, it turned out you needed to install and boot Ace Combat 8 to play The Belkan War on PC. While this isn’t an issue for some players, others bought Ace Combat 8 solely to play The Belkan War separately, specifically on handheld devices. It was also revealed that the marketing around this promotion was changed without any announcement from the developers at Bandai Namco.
This has caused quite an uproar in the community, and Bandai Namco has finally respondedwith an apology. However, the apology isn’t exactly what players were hoping to hear.
Ace Combat 8 developer issues an apology, but doesn’t promise a resolution
Bandai Namco issued a statement via Steam, noting that only players affected by this issue were those who pre-ordered Ace Combat 8 on PC via the platform. The developers explained that they didn’t include The Belkan War in Ace Combat 8 because licensing restrictions prevented the game from being a standalone application.
“Ace Combat Zero, is offered as a pre-order bonus. Due to licensing restrictions and platform-related considerations, it cannot currently be released on Steam as a standalone application. As a result, we have chosen to make Ace Combat Zero available through Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. We apologise for any confusion or frustration caused by our failure to clearly communicate this distribution method in advance.”
While this part of the statement helps explain why The Belkan War is no longer a standalone application, it doesn’t explain why the marketing language changed before Ace Combat 8′s launch without any announcement. It’s also unclear why this is solely a PC issue, as both the PS5 and Xbox versions of Ace Combat 8 give players a standalone application for The Belkan War.
Bandai Namco goes on in the statement to say, “We have carefully reviewed player feedback regarding this issue and understand the concerns that have been raised. We are currently evaluating possible options, including discussions with our platform partners. At this time, we cannot guarantee that any changes will be made. However, we are actively exploring potential solutions and will continue working with relevant partners to address player concerns where possible.”
So, it doesn’t look like PC players will get access to a standalone version of The Belkan War anytime soon, but the developers don’t completely rule out that possibility either. Still, this is a highly disappointing turn for Ace Combat 8, as before the controversy began, the game received extremely high ratings on Steam, garnering an overall rating of around 4.5/5. However, the game now sits at 3.6 on Steam and continues to drop. It will likely bounce back once the general player base starts playing, though.