Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Has Been Pushed Back To 2018

Ace Combat’s franchise director Kazutoki Kono has personally confirmed that Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown will not be releasing near the end of 2017 as originally intended. Due to the amount of work the team wants to do to realise its vision for the game Ace Combat 7 will now release in 2018, though it is not indicated around when in that year players could expect a release. Ace Combat 7 will be at E3 2017 though where a new gameplay demo will be shown, giving a look at one of the non-VR missions.

The full statement from Kazutoki Kono is below.

Dear Ace Combatants,

I wanted to take this opportunity to speak with you directly, our loyal ACE COMBAT fans, and give you a first-hand update on the launch timing for ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN.

The Project ACES team and I have been working hard on ACE COMBAT 7 and we’re determined to achieve the vision we have set for the game. To reach that vision, we have decided to move the launch of ACE COMBAT 7 to 2018.

We would have loved to launch ACE COMBAT 7 at the end of 2017 as we originally intended, but doing so would compromise our goal for the game. We take our art very seriously and that means we have instead chosen to devote additional time and effort to perfect and optimize this newest chapter of the ACE COMBAT saga. The combination of the Unreal 4 Engine and the power of current generation consoles and PC hardware have literally opened the “skies of opportunity” to us to develop the best ACE COMBAT experience to-date. At no other time in ACE COMBAT’s 20+ year history has gaming technology allowed us to deliver the minute details of flight combat – such as cloud cover and air currents – or give players a new way to experience dogfights and attack sorties through hardware such as the new PlayStation VR.

We’ll have a lot more information and details to share with you in the coming months, starting at E3 2017 where we plan to reveal a brand-new demo showcasing one of the non-VR missions in ACE COMBAT 7 for the first time ever!

On behalf of the entire Project ACES team, I want to thank you all for your patience and for your continued support.

While the delay may be a bit of a downer for series fans it will likely lead to a better experience overall whether people play in VR or not. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is expected to release for PS4 with PSVR support, PC, and Xbox One. It could be likely that the developers want not just more time to polish the game but to see how it can be pushed further on a platform like Scorpio too. If you want to know more about how Ace Combat 7 is in VR check out Stefan’s preview.

Source: Press Release