Overview
- Bandai Namco and Project Aces packaged the long-awaited PC port Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War as a DLC executable tied to Ace Combat 8 on Steam rather than offering it as a standalone app as on consoles.
- The studio apologised for the confusion, said licensing and platform-related limits prevent a standalone Steam release, and said it is evaluating possible solutions with platform partners without guaranteeing a change.
- On PC the arrangement requires players to install the full Ace Combat 8 install (roughly 135–150 GB) to access the 3–4 GB Belkan War, which blocks separate Steam achievements and cloud saves and makes play on Steam Deck impractical.
- Players reacted with a wave of negative Steam reviews and subreddit complaints that briefly lowered Ace Combat 8’s user rating before the score partially recovered after the developer statement.
- Publishers limited the Belkan War to pre-orders and initial physical runs because some aircraft licences in the 2006 game have expired, leaving the port’s long-term distribution and any remedy on Steam uncertain.