On October 2, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve was released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. After three days of early access for Deluxe Edition owners, the game became available to buyers of the standard version and set a series record for peak online players on Steam.
According to SteamDB, 37,214 people played the new installment simultaneously. For comparison, the maximum result for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown was 13,758 players — the new game surpassed it by approximately 2.7 times. By Friday morning, Ace Combat 8 also took first place in the global Steam sales chart by revenue, ahead of AION 2 and Gears of War: E-Day.
Buyers met the game with predominantly positive reviews: out of more than five thousand reviews, about 76% are positive. Players praise the aerial combat, campaign, and music, but complain about performance and technical issues. The Easy Anti-Cheat system received separate criticism: Linux and SteamOS users report that they can enter the online lobby but receive an error when starting a mission.
Peak online numbers may still change: the full release has just begun, and Friday evening and the first weekend after the game's launch are still ahead.