Quick Answer
Ace Combat 8 requires Windows 11, 16 GB RAM, an RTX 2060 or RX 6600 XT, DirectX 12, an SSD, and 125 GB at minimum. The recommended target uses 32 GB RAM and an RTX 3070 or RX 6800 for 1080p upscaled at 60 fps.
Official PC specification table
Compare the three published tiers
Showing all 3 official tiers.
| Tier | Official target | CPU | Memory | GPU | Storage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Low · 1080p upscaled · 30 fps | Intel Core i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | 16 GB RAM | RTX 2060 6 GB / RX 6600 XT 8 GB | 125 GB · SSD required | Steam + Japan official siteChecked Aug 30, 2026 |
| Recommended | Medium · 1080p upscaled · 60 fps | Intel Core i7-12700K / AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | 32 GB RAM | RTX 3070 8 GB / RX 6800 16 GB | 125 GB · SSD required | Steam + Japan official siteChecked Aug 30, 2026 |
| High | High · 4K upscaled · 60 fps | Intel Core i7-13700K / AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | 32 GB RAM | RTX 4080 16 GB / RX 7900 XTX 24 GB | 125 GB · SSD required | Japan official siteChecked Aug 30, 2026 |
All tiers also list Windows 11, DirectX 12, Shader Model 6.6 or later, an SSD, and a graphics card that supports hardware ray tracing. The published Japanese page says recommended requirements may be updated later.
The minimum PC specification
The official minimum tier lists Windows 11, an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, and 16 GB of RAM. Its graphics requirement is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6 GB or an AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT with 8 GB. Bandai Namco’s published target for this tier is Low settings at 1080p using upscaling and 30 frames per second.
This is a complete published target rather than a promise for every PC that shares one matching component. Compare the operating system, processor, memory, graphics card, storage, and DirectX requirements together. If one part of a system falls outside the listed minimum, the official material does not provide a lower fallback tier.
Every official tier uses 125 GB of available storage and requires an SSD. The listing also requires DirectX 12 with Shader Model 6.6 or later and a graphics card that supports hardware ray tracing. That wording establishes a hardware requirement, but it does not confirm which ray-tracing effects exist in the settings menu or whether those effects can be disabled.
The recommended 60 fps target
The current recommended tier raises the processor to an Intel Core i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and memory to 32 GB of RAM. It lists an RTX 3070 with 8 GB or RX 6800 with 16 GB for graphics. The published performance target is Medium settings at 1080p using upscaling and 60 frames per second.
The official target explicitly includes upscaling, so it should not be rewritten as native 1080p. Likewise, the listing does not promise a fixed frame rate in every mission, aircraft view, or online situation. It is safest to read the row as the publisher’s current pre-release specification for that named settings target.
The 125 GB storage figure does not change between minimum and recommended. An SSD, DirectX 12, Shader Model 6.6 or later, and hardware ray-tracing support remain common requirements. The official pages do not publish a separate hard-drive tier, so this guide does not present a mechanical hard drive as a supported substitute.
High and 4K requirements
Bandai Namco’s Japanese official product site publishes a third High tier that is not currently shown as a separate row on Steam. It names an Intel Core i7-13700K or AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, 32 GB of RAM, and an RTX 4080 with 16 GB or RX 7900 XTX with 24 GB. Its stated target is High settings at 3840×2160 using upscaling and 60 frames per second.
That same official page lists a UWQHD+ target of 3840×1600, also using upscaling at High settings and 60 frames per second. This is positive support for that named ultrawide resolution, not a complete promise for every ultrawide aspect ratio. Other resolutions, user-interface behavior, and cutscene presentation remain TBD until Bandai Namco publishes a broader compatibility matrix or the released game can be checked.
The High row should remain source-labeled because its provenance differs from the two Steam tiers. Steam currently publishes minimum and recommended requirements, while the Japanese official site supplies the High and UWQHD+ targets. Combining them without that distinction would make the table look more uniform than the evidence actually is.
SSD, DirectX 12, and ray-tracing hardware
Three hardware notes apply across the current PC specifications: install the game on an SSD, use DirectX 12 with Shader Model 6.6 or later, and have a graphics card that supports hardware ray tracing. The first two notes are direct platform requirements, while the third describes GPU capability. None of those notes confirms a menu of optional visual effects beyond what the official listings actually say.
The distinction matters because “ray-tracing-capable GPU required” is not the same claim as “ray-traced reflections are always enabled.” No official source checked for this page explains which ray-tracing techniques are used, which settings control them, or whether they can be turned off. Those items remain in the pending block instead of being converted into assumptions.
Storage should also be treated as a planning floor rather than an estimate of download size. The official figure is 125 GB of available space, and the pages do not publish a separate compressed-download number. This guide therefore keeps “installation space” and “download size” separate rather than inventing an equivalence.
How to compare your PC
Start by matching the target you actually want: minimum for the published Low 30 fps target, recommended for the published Medium 60 fps target, or High for the official 4K and UWQHD+ targets. Then compare every named component in that row instead of choosing a tier from the GPU alone. The official material does not supply a calculator for mixed configurations, laptop variants, overclocked parts, or equivalent processors and graphics cards.
If your exact component is not named, this page cannot certify an equivalent result from the official evidence. Check the manufacturer specifications for DirectX 12, Shader Model 6.6, video memory, and hardware ray-tracing support, then treat actual game performance as TBD until tested. This is especially important for mobile GPUs whose names can resemble desktop models without the official page making an equivalence claim.
Leave additional free disk space for normal operating-system and storefront activity, but do not label any extra margin as an official Ace Combat 8 requirement. The only confirmed game figure is 125 GB of available space on an SSD. Recheck the storefront near launch because the Japanese product page explicitly says the recommended requirements are planned for a later update.
The official Walkthrough Trailer covers aerial combat, aircraft and weapon or part customization, wingman commands, mission preparation, and battles against colossal superweapons. It is embedded here for game context, not as a benchmark source. Its video ID and official relationship were verified through Bandai Namco’s media page and June 4, 2026 news post; live YouTube metrics are deliberately omitted.
Pending compatibility checks
Pre-release watchlist
TBD until an official update or launch verification
These fields are intentionally present so the page can be updated in place when evidence arrives.
- macOS support: TBD — no official system specification found as of August 30, 2026.
- Native Linux support: TBD — no official system specification found as of August 30, 2026.
- Steam Deck status: TBD — no official verification or compatibility result found.
- Ray-tracing controls: TBD — required hardware capability is confirmed, but individual effects and toggles are not.
- Additional ultrawide modes: TBD — only the named 3840×1600 UWQHD+ target is confirmed.
- VR-specific requirements: TBD — the team is not pursuing a VR mode for this game, and no future change has been promised.
These are evidence gaps, not negative platform announcements. “No official specification found” only describes the sources checked on the page’s update date. If Bandai Namco or Steam publishes a new requirement, the corresponding field can be replaced without creating another thin page.
Source and update policy
The minimum and recommended rows are supported by the official Steam store and the Japanese official product site. The High and UWQHD+ rows are labeled to the Japanese official site because Steam does not currently show them as a separate tier. All specifications on this page were checked on August 30, 2026, while the game was still unreleased.
This page will be checked again near the Early Access window and global release. Published specifications can change before launch, and the Japanese official site already warns that its recommended requirements are planned for an update. Any future edit will preserve the source date and keep unsupported values marked TBD rather than silently filling gaps.
The official global release date is October 2, 2026; Steam’s precise technical timestamp corresponds to October 1 at 22:00 UTC and October 2 at 06:00 in Beijing. That timing difference does not change the hardware table, but it matters when deciding when release-build testing can begin. For the latest timing, use the site’s release-date briefing on the homepage rather than treating a storefront’s local date label as a second global launch date.