Nearly a month after launch, Project Aces has confirmed that Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War is now available as a standalone title on Steam. But before you rush off to buy it, this is only for those who pre-ordered Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. Long story short, if you didn’t purchase the sequel through these means, you can’t play Ace Combat Zero.
However, current owners should start to see a standalone version appear in their Steam Library, and it’s playable without Ace Combat 8 installed (which was the biggest initial complaint). Best of all, your save data is compatible, and if you’ve completed any Achievements, those will unlock.
What does that mean for Ace Combat 8, though? Well, the option to launch Ace Combat Zero could still appear when booting it up. You can select the game as usual, but Project Aces recommends either setting it as the default launch option or unchecking the DLC from the Steam Properties menu if you don’t want the dialogue to appear.
Alongside PC, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. It received extensive critical acclaim (check out our review for more details) and sold over one million copies in roughly a week, becoming the series’ fastest-selling title.
