Ace Combat 8’s Multiplayer Is Aiming to Climb Higher Than Ever

Key Preview Takeaways:

• Multiplayer is split into several mission types.
• Co-op Warfare is the mode that most interested me during my demo.
• The 100-player lobbies are meant to be like friendly air force bases that players can roam and socialize in.

It’s hot in Germany. Most buildings don’t have air conditioning. Gamescom does, but it’s still hot and noisy, even in the business area that’s not as crowded. I’m here to talk about Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve’s multiplayer with Ace Combat Series Brand Director Kazutoki Kono and Ace Combat 8 Producer Manabu Shimomoto. I don’t get to play it myself, but I do get to see what they’re working on. And it looks impressive.

Wings of Theve’s multiplayer is built around three things: co-op and versus missions, customizing your aircraft, and the online lobby, which can accommodate up to 100 players at once. Ace Combat 8 is clearly aiming high. Shimomoto told me there were two reasons:

“First, while many customers enjoyed Ace Combat 7 and became fans, we received feedback from the community asking for a place where those fans could connect and interact with one another. In response to that feedback, we added the lobby to serve as a gathering place for fans. Second, thanks to everyone’s support, Ace Combat 7 is still selling well even seven years after its release. We designed it to be enjoyable for a wide variety of players—whether they prefer cooperative play or competitive play.”

Ace Combat 8 looks to have no shortage of either. Wings of Theve’s multiplayer is split into several mission types: Main Missions, which are always available and have rewards that scale based on rank; Emergency Mission, which are special, time-limited jaunts; and Event Missions, which are regular, time-limited missions with units to planes and roles.

It’s a lot, so let’s break it down. Each category is divided into two gametypes. For Main Missions, that’s Co-op Assault, where two teams of four compete for the highest score. Co-op Warfare is what really caught my eye, though. It’s a PvPvE mode where two teams of four (you’re gonna hear this phrase a lot, so bear with me) compete amid air, sea, and land units. Strategy will be based around what the team calls “Threat Level” and “Aces.”

When I asked about it, Shimomoto told me a lot of effort had gone into getting it right. “Co-op Warfare was created to address some issues in the series,” he said. “Up until now, Ace Combat’s multiplayer has had two problems: First, when players of similar skill levels face off, the two aircraft tend to circle around each other, fighting for position from behind, which makes it hard for the action to develop. We wanted to fix that. [Secondly,] we wanted to create a mode where aircraft other than fighters could also play an active role. In PvPvE, in addition to player enemies, NPC enemies also appear. It incorporates the “farming” concept from MOBA games, where defeating enemies raises the Threat Level. Especially early in a match, it’s easy to raise the Threat Level by defeating NPC enemies. For example, Attackers excel at raising the Threat Level by destroying large numbers of NPC aircraft, while Fighters excel at shooting down enemy players whose Threat Level has risen. We’ve succeeded in creating thrilling battles where a variety of roles shine.”

I never thought I’d hear Ace Combat compared to a MOBA, but if the Wings of Theve team has found a way to make sure that every playstyle can contribute and every plane has a role, Co-op Warfare is something I’ll definitely be keen to check out.