Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve just lapped every previous entry by hitting 1 million sales in under a week. Bandai Namco confirmed the milestone October 9 after the October 2 launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam, calling it the fastest in the 30-year franchise. Previous champ Ace Combat 7 took over a year just to reach 2 million, and the series total sits around 22 million lifetime.

The announcement landed with the usual thanks to “ace pilots worldwide” and a fresh Tasha wallpaper drop on the official site. Early access started September 29, so the bulk of those sales came in the first full week. Steam alone peaked above 52,000 concurrent players and sits at 81% Very Positive from 16K-plus reviews.

This is the first mainline game since 2019, and the numbers show the wait paid off. Project Aces delivered the biggest multiplayer slate yet plus 30-plus aircraft, and the crowd showed up. Next patch cycle and new aircraft seasons are already locked in—franchise momentum is officially back online.

Flight combat isn’t niche when the numbers look like this.