Project Aces announced today that its popular arcade flight shooter Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown will receive new DLC featuring aircraft from the upcoming sequel film Top Gun: Maverick later this spring. The news comes on the eve of the film’s premiere at CinemaCon in Las Vegas tomorrow, following several years of delays.
In a tweet, Ace Combat publisher Bandai Namco shared the aircraft DLC would release in the spring and to “please wait for further details,” along with a collaboration image.
Ace Combat 7 launched on PS4 and Xbox One in Jan. 2019 and released on PC the next month. Bandai Namco announced last August that the game had eclipsed 3 million total sales, beating out the PS2 classic Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies to become the best-selling entry in the now 27-year-old series. The game has already received several DLC updates, including new missions, planes, and customization options.
Project Aces veteran developer and Ace Combat 7 producer Kazutoki Kono shared his excitement for the unlikely crossover that no doubt has fans of the series delighted.
Top Gun: Maverick will see Tom Cruise return to the cockpit as the titular Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the sequel to the original TK film. While he originally flew a F-14 Tomcat, trailers have shown Cruise piloting a F/A-18 Super Hornet against a cutting edge Su-57, and we can expect to see the F-35C in the film as well — all planes already featured in Ace Combat 7.
The crossover DLC is expected to launch this spring.