It was only at the start of 2017 that Bandai Namco confirmed that Ace Combat 7 would also be arriving on Xbox One and PC, alongside the previously known PS4. Well, whilst that was great news, today sees some that isn’t quite so good. A delay. Until 2018.
In a personal letter from the Ace Combat Franchise Director, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has been hit with a delay. Originally planned for a 2017 release, the photo-realistic visuals, intense dogfights and huge range of aircraft included have obviously take their toll on the team behind it. It’ll still come with a great story, and it’ll still let you take your dogfighting skills online, but now, we’ll just have to wait until 2018.
The full letter can be seen 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.
Sincerely,
Kazutoki Kono – ACE COMBAT Franchise Director
Obviously it’s a huge disappointment to see a delay on a game that was so anticipated, but should the team working on it need more time in order to create the best, most extravagant flyer available, then so be it.
What do you think of this delay? Let us know in the comments below.
