An award-winning PS4 and Xbox One game gets confirmed for the Nintendo Switch just ahead of its five-year release anniversary.
Highlights
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is coming to the Nintendo Switch on July 11, 2024.
The Switch port of the award-winning game was announced just ahead of its five-year release anniversary.
Bandai Namco will bring the popular flight sim to Nintendo's hybrid console along with over half a dozen expansions. The publisher also plans to release four more DLC packs post-launch.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is coming to the Nintendo Switch in the summer of 2024, Bandai Namco has revealed. This upcoming release is thus poised to add to the selection of compelling simulation games for the Switch.
The seventh numbered entry in the long-running combat flight sim franchise debuted on the PS4 and Xbox One in January 2019 before making its way to PC a month later. The game was met with fairly widespread critical acclaim and ended up winning the 2019 CEDEC Award for outstanding sound. With nearly 2 million launch year sales, Ace Combat 7 helped cement Bandai Namco as one of the most successful video game publishers of the past decade. The combat flight sim surpassed 5 million lifetime sales in November 2023.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is now on its way to the Switch, where it is set to land on July 11. The Switch port of one of the most cinematic war games ever made was announced just a day shy of its five-year release anniversary. Bandai Namco producer Kazutoki Kono said that the Switch version of the combat flight sim is being made externally under the company's supervision, albeit without revealing which studio was tasked with leading the porting process.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Nintendo Switch Release Date
July 11, 2024
The upcoming Switch port is being advertised as a Deluxe Edition of the game packing a wide variety of Ace Combat 7 DLC that Bandai Namco released over the years. Specifically, the publisher is planning to bundle the vanilla experience with three extra aircraft sets, as well as a trio of SP missions. Eight emblems paying homage to past series entries will also be part of the package, as will some bonus aircraft skins and Music Player Mode, among other things.
As things stand right now, the free two-year anniversary DLC that Ace Combat 7 received in 2021 won't be included in the Deluxe Edition of the game. But four other downloadable content packs are in the pipeline, including the Top Gun: Maverick aircraft set that first debuted in May 2022, coinciding with the release of the Tom Cruise blockbuster. That said, the DLC quartet won't be available at launch, with Bandai Namco merely stating that the four expansions will roll out at a later date.
The Switch port of Ace Combat 7 will unsurprisingly receive some graphical downgrades compared to the original game, as Nintendo's handheld is significantly less powerful than Sony and Microsoft's eighth-generation consoles. Be that as it may, Bandai Namco vowed to deliver a smooth gameplay experience with a "comfortable frame rate."
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition Contents
“ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN” Original Story
“Three original aircraft sets" + "Three SP missions" Part1 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-11F Raven Set” Part2 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-01 FALKEN Set” Part3 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADFX-01 Morgan Set” Part4 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Unexpected Visitor” Part5 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Anchorhead Raid” Part6 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Ten Million Relief Plan”
Part1 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-11F Raven Set”
Part2 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-01 FALKEN Set”
Part3 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADFX-01 Morgan Set”
Part4 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Unexpected Visitor”
Part5 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Anchorhead Raid”
Part6 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Ten Million Relief Plan”
Bonus “Music Player Mode”
Playable Aircraft F-104C -Avril-
Playable Aircraft F-4E Phantom II
Three popular aircraft skins from the past series
8 popular emblems of the past series
4 DLC packs set to be released at a later date ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Original Aircraft Series -Set ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Experimental Aircraft Series – Set ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Cutting-edge Aircraft Series – Set ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft -Set
ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Original Aircraft Series -Set
ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Experimental Aircraft Series – Set
ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 25th Anniversary DLC – Cutting-edge Aircraft Series – Set
ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft -Set
Nintendo's newest system features a vibrant 7-inch OLED screen, a wide adjustable stand, a dock with a wired LAN port, 64 GB of internal storage, and enhanced audio. Improvements to visuals, audio, and connectivity make a strong impact on highly detailed gameplay and setup is extremely easy.