Ace Combat 8 sells 1 million copies in a week for a series record, but why are 21st-century fighters still dogfighting up close?

Ace Combat 8 sold more than 1 million copies worldwide in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling mainline entry in series history, with a Steam peak of 52,000 concurrent players and 16,000 reviews at an 81% positive rating. The game focuses on close-range dogfighting from a first-person cockpit view plus aircraft modification and progression, yet deliberately downplays electronic warfare, stealth and beyond-visual-range strikes, drawing concentrated criticism from players in China over gameplay that lags behind the times, unstable PC frame rates and rough Simplified Chinese localization. Veteran players overseas consider its cloud dogfights, soundtrack and story strong enough to stand out, and the split reception leaves the game both popular and controversial within the player base.