Ace Combat 8 Guide

Ace Combat Zero Bonus: How to Launch The Belkan War

Every pre-order of Ace Combat 8 includes Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, a port of the 2006 original rather than a remake. On Steam it is not a separate game in your library: it is a DLC with its own executable, launched from Ace Combat 8, and it needs Ace Combat 8 installed.

A dark fighter in flight beside an on-screen card reading Lux Lunae 55th Unit

“ACE COMBAT ZERO: THE BELKAN WAR (Steam Version) is available as a DLC executable launched separately from the base game.”

The Steam store listing

Launching it on Steam

  1. 1

    Check the DLC is installed

    In your library, open Ace Combat 8, then Properties, then DLC, and tick The Belkan War. It is a download of roughly 4 GB.
  2. 2

    Press Play and pick Zero

    With the DLC installed, pressing Play on Ace Combat 8 asks which game to start. Choose Ace Combat Zero.
  3. 3

    No choice appears?

    You ticked the box to remember your choice. Clear it in Ace Combat 8's Properties, under the launch options, or start the game directly from its folder: ACE COMBAT 8\ACZero\acz.exe inside your Steam library.

PC (Steam)

  • A DLC of Ace Combat 8, not a separate library entry
  • Launched from Ace Combat 8's Play button
  • Ace Combat 8 must stay installed

Xbox Series X|S

  • Listed as its own Xbox Series X|S version of Ace Combat Zero
  • Delivered with the Ace Combat 8 pre-order
  • Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese

Why it is not a standalone game on PC

Players expected Zero as its own game, the way it arrives on Xbox. On PC it came as a DLC executable that lives inside Ace Combat 8, with no library entry of its own, and Ace Combat 8 has to be installed to use it. That gap is one of the loudest complaint in the game's Steam reviews.

Bought a physical copy and found no code?

Disc buyers are reporting the Zero code missing from some boxes. Check the insert and the pre-order receipt from the shop first; the bonus is tied to pre-orders, so a copy bought after launch may not carry it at all. The editions page lists what each version includes.

A warning about its hardest difficulty

Zero is a 2006 game, and its highest difficulty is notoriously punishing. If the new game is your first in the series, start Zero on a normal setting. The Ace Combat 8 difficulty page covers the new game's four settings.