Ace Combat 7 delayed to 2018, first non-VR gameplay coming at E3 2017

We won't be playing Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown this year, but we'll be seeing more of it.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown developers at Project ACES have announced that the game won't make its previously targeted end-of-2017 release window.

The anticipated sequel will instead launch in 2018, with franchise director Kazutoki Kono attributing the delay to needing more time to "perfect and optimise" the game. Kono penned a statement directed to franchise fans, which you can see below in full.

"The Project ACES team and I have been working hard on Ace Combat 7 and we’re determined to achieve the vision we have set for the game. To reach that vision, we have decided to move the launch of Ace Combat 7 to 2018.

"We would have loved to launch Ace Combat 7 at the end of 2017 as we originally intended, but doing so would compromise our goal for the game. We take our art very seriously and that means we have instead chosen to devote additional time and effort to perfect and optimise this newest chapter of the Ace Combat saga. The combination of the Unreal 4 Engine and the power of current generation consoles and PC hardware have literally opened the 'skies of opportunity' to us to develop the best Ace Combat experience to-date.

"At no other time in Ace Combat's 20+ year history has gaming technology allowed us to deliver the minute details of flight combat - such as cloud cover and air currents – or give players a new way to experience dogfights and attack sorties through hardware such as the new PlayStation VR."

At E3 2017 next month, the team will be showing the first ever footage of non-VR missions from the game. The VR component of Ace Combat 7 is exclusive to PlayStation VR, and it's been the only part of it shown.