The team behind Ace Combat 8: Twin Wings responded to the issue where the pre-order bonus, Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, could not be launched independently on Steam. While the bonus can be launched separately on XSX|S and PS5, it is bundled with Ace Combat 8: Twin Wings on Steam and is not a standalone application.
The team later posted an explanation on Steam, stating that due to licensing restrictions and platform considerations, they currently cannot release the bonus as a standalone application on Steam. They also apologized for not clearly explaining the distribution method beforehand, which caused confusion and dissatisfaction among players.
Regarding next steps, the team stated they are evaluating possible solutions and communicating with platform partners, but could not guarantee that changes would ultimately be made.
Ace Combat 8: Twin Wings entered Early Access on September 28 and officially launched on October 1. At the time of the incident, its Steam user reviews were "Mostly Positive." Citing SteamDB data, InsiderGaming reported that the game's historical peak concurrent players on Steam exceeded 37,000, surpassing the peak of under 14,000 for Ace Combat 7.