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ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR 13 Oct 2026, 16:15

ACE COMBAT ZERO gets standalone Steam version for existing pre-order bonus holders

ACE COMBAT ZERO gets standalone Steam version for existing pre-order bonus holders

Bandai Namco is preparing a standalone Steam version of ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR for existing pre-order bonus owners.

  • The change is intended for players who already have the game as a pre-order bonus; new players will not get access through this update, according to the notice.
  • The publisher says the release is still in final QA and compatibility testing and has not announced a release date.

What happened

Bandai Namco has said that ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR is being prepared as a separate app on Steam. Until now, the game was launched through ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE, but according to the update, a standalone version will now sit alongside it. That means this is not a new general release for everyone, but a change in how existing Steam access is being delivered.

The publisher is tying the standalone version to players who already received ACE COMBAT ZERO as a pre-order bonus. The notice also says that players who do not already own that bonus will not be able to get the game through this change. Kotaku previously reported that the move follows fan criticism over the PC version being bundled with ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE.

Bandai Namco also says the final quality assurance and compatibility tests are still ongoing. Because of that, there is still no confirmed release date. The publisher does expect save data to be shared between the existing version and the standalone version via Steam Cloud, but that is still listed as an expectation rather than a finished result.

Timeline

  • 2006 — ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR originally releases on PlayStation 2.

  • 2026-10-13 — Bandai Namco says ACE COMBAT ZERO is being prepared as a standalone Steam app.

  • 2026-10-13 — The publisher says the game is still accessible through ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE for players with the pre-order bonus.

  • 2026-10-13 — Bandai Namco says final QA and compatibility tests are still underway, with more details to follow later.

  • 2026-10-13 — The notice names Steam Cloud as the expected way to share save data between the existing version and the standalone version.

Background

ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR is a 2006 game that was originally released as a standalone entry in the Ace Combat series. On Steam, the title has so far been tied to ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE, which the publisher now wants to change with a separate app for existing holders of the pre-order bonus.

The available information does not yet include a confirmed release date, any confirmed regional rollout, or a full explanation of the exact access requirements for the standalone app. It is also not confirmed whether Steam Cloud syncing will work fully at launch. Bandai Namco says further details will follow once the final verification is complete.