Ace Combat Zero Standalone App Coming to Steam for Pre-Orderers

Project Aces has confirmed that a standalone application for Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War is currently undergoing final quality assurance and compatibility testing for release on Steam. This update addresses player dissatisfaction regarding the game's initial launch structure, which required installing the much larger Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve to access the twenty-year-old title. While PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S owners received a DLC executable allowing standalone play, PC users faced significant storage demands due to the main game’s size.

Once released, the new app will allow players to launch Ace Combat Zero independently or through Ace Combat 8, with save data expected to sync via Steam Cloud. However, this standalone option remains exclusive to those who pre-ordered Ace Combat 8. Bandai Namco Entertainment stated there are no plans to sell Ace Combat Zero as a separate purchase in the future, citing contractual restrictions with jet manufacturers that prevent individual distribution.