Despite Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve not yet releasing on October 2, franchise director Kazutoki Kono has already discussed future plans for the series, including potential story downloadable content for the upcoming game and the possibility of an Ace Combat 9.

Kono's remarks, made in an interview with Polygon, highlighted the new structure at Bandai Namco, which established a dedicated Ace Combat team, Bandai Namco Aces, in 2022. Previously, developers would shift to different projects between Ace Combat titles. This new dedicated team allows for a more sustained focus on the franchise. Kono indicated that the story team is preparing for new challenges even after Ace Combat 8's campaign concludes.

"We've already announced that Ace Combat 8 is going to have a live-service element to it, so that needs its own team to continually develop new content," Kono stated. "And I haven't really spoken much about this yet, but even the main storyline, once the team is done, there's another challenge awaiting them. And even further down the line, Ace Combat 9, perhaps, as we continue the franchise."

While Bandai Namco has not officially confirmed story DLC for Ace Combat 8, an FAQ on the game's website does mention the series' history of post-launch support. "The Ace Combat series has a long history of supporting players with additional post-launch content. While we are not ready to share details about future content plans at this time, we look forward to sharing more information in the future," the FAQ reads. This comment from Kono marks the first concrete suggestion of additional missions beyond the initial release, aligning with the precedent set by Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which received three additional missions after launch.

The mention of Ace Combat 9 underscores Kono's confidence in Bandai Namco Aces as a more self-sustaining development entity. He emphasized the team's objective to cultivate institutional knowledge and develop reusable technology. "At the center of development are people, human talent. In order to support their growth and future path, we need that knowledge to be retained," Kono explained. "When every person individually is able to grow to a different level, what that does is create more development lines. Different teams can form around those people who have retained knowledge."

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is set to launch on October 2 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.