- Name
- ACE COMBAT ONLINE, with its own progress and save, separate from the campaign.
- Hub
- The Air Base, shared by up to 100 players.
- Core modes
- Co-Op Assault and Co-Op Warfare.
- Random events
- Scramble and Emergency Sortie.
- Crossplay
- Yes.
- Ace Pass
- A new season every two months.
Before you start
ACE COMBAT ONLINE keeps its own progress and its own save. Nothing from the campaign comes with you: the aircraft are the same, but you earn them again online.
The modes
🏠 Air Base
The hub between sorties. Up to 100 players share one.
🤝 Co-Op Assault
PvE. Two teams of four fly the same operation and compete on score, so you are fighting the AI while racing the other team.
⚔️ Co-Op Warfare
Four against four, with computer-controlled land, sea and air forces fighting around you. Reaching a three-star Threat Level earns the title "Ace".
🚨 Scramble
Not picked from a menu: it appears at random inside the core modes and puts four players against computer-controlled aces.
🛰️ Emergency Sortie
Also a random event inside the core modes: up to eight players against a superweapon.
🎯 Limited-time PvP
Rotating player-versus-player events: four-against-four Team Deathmatch and an eight-player free-for-all.
The Ace Pass
- A new Ace Pass season starts every two months.
- Season 1's Premium track gives the ADFX-02 Morgan -PIXY- at level 1. After the season it is to be sold on its own.
- The Deluxe Edition includes a Premium Ace Pass Plus voucher that can be redeemed in any season, not only the first.
- Bandai Namco's FAQ states there are no loot boxes and no consumable purchases.
Crossplay
Crossplay is supported between PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Two related questions remain open: whether crossplay can be switched off, and whether progress follows you from one platform to another (cross-save). Only one source we read addresses either, so we cannot confirm them.
Matchmaking problems at launch
On 9 October 2026 Bandai Namco posted that it acknowledged matchmaking problems in ACE COMBAT ONLINE. It named one likely factor: players connecting from setups below the official PC requirements, which can also hurt the match for everyone else in it. Its advice is to play on Windows 11 and install the game on an SSD, not a hard drive. A fix is promised in an upcoming update, with no date yet; check the game's official news before changing your network settings.
What we could not confirm
- Local co-op or split screen: only one source we read mentions it, so we cannot confirm it.
- Whether the game is on Game Pass or PlayStation Plus: likewise a single source, so we do not say either way.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 9 October 2026 against Bandai Namco's official game page and FAQ, the game's Steam store page and news posts (the matchmaking notice is the 9 October post, re-checked on 10 October 2026), the Ace Combat Wiki and Vandal. Not from a playthrough: nobody here has played it.