I honestly gave up hope of hearing anything about AC8 before March '26. This and Control 2 are pretty much the only things from tonight that legit got my hyped.
The basic premise from Project ACES:
Based on that and the trailer, it's looking like we start as the WSO for "Rex," before having to take up their mantle due to Rex's death after being shot down. In terms of story beats and setup, I'm for sure seeing some inspiration from Zero, 5 and 6 in play. My best guess is that after the events of AC7 (as well as the events of ACX, since both the Lesath Civil War and Aurelian War cannonincally happen during and after the Continental War respectivley), Erusea and Osea espescially are both too weak to intervene in any affairs on the Usean continent, which at least partially inspire Sotoa to invade the FCU with impunity.
Also, I'm glad that we're seeing the spotlight shine on two fairly unknown Strangreal nations/areas. For the uninitiated, Central Usea is an independent nation that was considered the unofficial head of ISAF in Ace Combat 04. Little is explicitly said about the FCU within Ace Combats overarching lore, but some members of the community see it and many of the other nations in Usea (save for Erusea and North Point) as the Strangereal equivalent of the EU.
Sotoa, meanwhile, is a relatively small nation on the Western side of the Verusean continent, a continent that is mostly dominated by Yuktobania, the
secondary antagonist nation from AC5. Almost nothing is really known about Sotoa within Ace Combats lore, but considering that this fairly small nation has at least one Su-57 and a couple Flankers in their Air Force, I think there's a chance that they're getting some assitance from Yuktobania here.
Also, pretty sure I hear Debra Wilson's voice in the trailer, too.
