Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Ace Combat 7 (working title) is the upcoming 17th entry in the Ace Combat series. It was initially revealed through an Ace Combat Infinity data leak in November 2015, followed by an official announcement at PlayStation Experience in December 2015.

Ace Combat 7 will release exclusively on the, and will feature optional support for the. As of December 2015, the game is 20% complete. Ace Combat 7 was tentatively scheduled to release in 2016, but as of fall 2016, no further details have been formally announced, leading to the belief that it will release in 2017 at the earliest.

Ace Combat 7 will be the first game in the series since Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation to feature a number in the title and the first console game since Ace Combat 6 to take place in the Strangereal universe. Ace Combat 7 will also be the first Ace Combat game to release on an and the first to utilize a third-party engine, namely.

Plot
According to Kazutoki Kono, producer of the game, Ace Combat 7 will be set "a few years" after Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. It will not be close to the timeline of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere. A central focus for 7 will be the prevalence of unmanned aircraft replacing human pilots.

The announcement trailer features a space elevator named by one pilot as Lighthouse, as well as an Osean F-22A Raptor engaging and destroying an Erusian Su-30M before encountering another Su-30M and an FAS, which launches its UAVs to engage the F-22A. Meanwhile, an unknown female astronaut jumps off of a nearby platform into the fray, her helmet somehow falling off, implying her death.

Gameplay
No gameplay has been shown for Ace Combat 7 yet. Contrary to the recent releases of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Ace Combat Infinity, helicopters and Piston Fighters will not make an appearance in 7; the game will focus solely on jet aircraft.

According to a fan who spoke with Adam Boyes (Vice President of Publisher & Developer Relations at Sony Computer Entertainment America) at PlayStation Experience 2015, clouds will play a major role in gameplay for the first time, providing a degree of stealth and hampering visibility. According to Kono, other important aspects of gameplay with 7 are allowing players to manually perform advanced maneuvers as well as "improving strategic aspects against enemies".

Screenshots
Also see Category:Ace Combat 7 for all Ace Combat 7 screenshots uploaded to Acepedia!

Trivia

 * Most games in the Ace Combat series have featured some kind of subtitle after the Ace Combat name (and number, if applicable). 7 does not currently have a subtitle, though Project Aces is still determining whether to use one at all.
 * Immediately prior to the Ace Combat 7 announcement trailer's first airing, Asad Qizilbash, head of Software Marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, described "staying up all night to unlock this easter egg, it was a FALKEN fighter", referencing Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
 * On November 15, 2014, Bandai Namco producer Katsuhiro Harada (producer of the  series) stated that Ace Combat would never get VR support due to the "horizontal" being "shaken violently" as if one was drunk. The fact that Ace Combat 7 supports PlayStation VR shows a shift in Bandai Namco's acceptance of virtual reality for those who can physically tolerate the technology.