Ace Combat series celebrates 30 years with Bandai Namco

Bandai Namco Entertainment announced the start of celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Ace Combat, the aerial combat video game series. The franchise began in 1995 on PlayStation as a reinterpretation of the 1993 arcade game Air Combat. Set primarily in the fictional world of Strangereal—where asteroid Ulysses struck Earth in 1999—the series features real aircraft like the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle and Sukhoi PAK FA, alongside unrealized prototypes. Spin-offs such as Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010), Assault Horizon (2011), and Infinity (2014) take place in a sci-fi version of our world. The latest title, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019), is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. The series balances semi-realistic simulation and arcade gameplay, and has expanded into novels and other media.