aircombj is an arcade-style combat flight simulation video game franchise published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Debuting in 1995 with Air Combat for the PlayStation, the series includes eight mainline installments, multiple spin-offs, and other forms of media, such as novels, model kits, and soundtrack albums. Since 2012, the series has been developed primarily by Bandai Namco Studios through its internal development group, Project Aces.

franchise emphasizes fast-paced action and dramatic plots with semi-realistic gameplay; for example, aircraft have flight dynamics controls and can stall, but are also able to carry dozens of missiles in hammerspace. One of the main selling points of the series is the ability to pilot a range of aircraft that include accurate or slightly modified representations of modern military aircraft, prototypes that were never adopted (or even built) in real life, and fictional boss-type superweapons. The main series of games is set in “Strangereal”, a fictional universe loosely based on the real world, featuring similar events and entities but with an entirely different history largely centering around advanced technology and the effects of an asteroid impact event in the 1990s; however, certain games are set in fictional renditions of the real world.

As of 2022, the Ace Combat franchise has shipped over 18 million copies worldwide,^[b] and has established itself as one of the longest running arcade flight action franchises.

Setting

Most installments in the Ace Combat series are set in Strangereal, the series’ fictional universe. Strangereal’s Earth features entirely different nations, geography, continents, and history compared to the real world, though some nations, locations, and events are loosely based on those from real life, and most aircraft in the series are real models with few alterations.

Though Strangereal is very similar to the real modern world, technology is shown to be significantly more advanced than it is in real life, allowing for the development of superweapons and theoretical devices such as aerial warships, laser weapons, railguns, submarine and airborne aircraft carriers, orbital weapons, mass drivers, lethal autonomous weapons, nearly-sentient artificial intelligence, and advanced experimental aircraft. Nuclear weapons exist, but international agreements and nuclear terrorism are implied to have inhibited their development and use, resulting in a lack of nuclear deterrence and a greater focus on conventional weapons in arms races. This makes interstate warfare common, and many nations field large militaries with diverse equipment, develop superweapons, train elite special forces-esque “ace” fighter squadrons, or hire mercenaries to augment their forces.

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