On Steam, The Belkan War needs ACE COMBAT 8 installed, and Bandai Namco has posted two PC notices before launch

ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE launches on October 2[1]. Deluxe Edition owners have been playing since September 29, and Bandai Namco has posted two notices for the Steam version during that early access period. One addresses unexpected crashes; the other concerns an online connection error[2][3]. The older game included as a pre-order bonus also works differently on Steam[4]. The details below were checked against the Steam store, Steam announcements, Bandai Namco's official website and Eurogamer's reporting as of September 30, 2026.

The Belkan War requires ACE COMBAT 8 to be installed on Steam

Pre-ordering any edition of ACE COMBAT 8 includes ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR, which originally launched exclusively on PS2 in 2006[5]. According to the Korean Steam store description, The Belkan War on Steam is a DLC executable that launches separately from the main game, but ACE COMBAT 8 must be installed for it to run[4].

Eurogamer reports that The Belkan War is a separate product on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S[5]. The Steam store previously described it as a "standalone application separate from the main game." That description has since changed to the current wording, though it is unclear when the change was made[5]. Steam users have objected to having to download the large main game to play an older title, and to the difficulty of running The Belkan War on its own on devices such as Steam Deck[5].

For crashes, check drivers and SSD space; for the online error, check the Windows clock

At 13:50 UTC on September 29, Bandai Namco posted a notice saying it had received reports of unexpected crashes in the Steam version[2]. It also listed three things to check while the development team investigates: update to the recommended graphics driver specified when launching the game, keep at least 16GB free on the SSD where the game is installed, and enable Windows virtual memory[2].

A second notice, posted at 09:31 UTC on September 30, addressed error code ST-3100001 in the ACE COMBAT ONLINE mode[3]. This code appears when communication with the game server is lost. Bandai Namco advised checking that the Windows clock is correct and synchronizing it[3].

The game's overall Steam rating is "Mostly Positive." As of 10:29 UTC on September 30, 2,555 of 3,570 reviews recommended it. Among English-language reviews, 1,555 of 2,036 recommended it[6]. A keyword count of the original text of 1,017 negative reviews at the same time recorded 324 mentions of performance, 215 of crashes and 103 of The Belkan War[6].

Anyone planning to play The Belkan War through Steam has two things to prepare before October 2: enough SSD space to install both it and the main game, and the recommended driver version listed in the notice. If playing The Belkan War on its own is the priority, its availability as a separate product on consoles is worth considering before buying[5].

Sources

[1] Bandai Namco Entertainment. ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE. Official website, accessed September 30, 2026.

[2] ACE COMBAT Team. Product Notice. Steam announcement, September 29, 2026, accessed September 30, 2026.

[3] ACE COMBAT Team. About Error Code: ST-3100001. Steam announcement, accessed September 30, 2026.

[4] Valve. ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE Steam store page. Korean storefront, accessed September 30, 2026.

[5] Eurogamer. Controversy erupts around Ace Combat 8 on PC as bundled Belkan War re-release remains problematically attached to the new game, whereas it's standalone on console. September 29, 2026, accessed September 30, 2026.

[6] Valve. ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE Steam user review summary. Overall and English-language reviews queried separately; keywords counted directly in the original negative review texts, accessed September 30, 2026 at 10:29 UTC.