Aces of Thunder: Everything We Know

Heads up, aviation fans — Gaijin Entertainment is heading up a brand new project titled Aces of Thunder, and it promises to capture the very heart and soul of World War II aerial combat. What's more, it'll be coming to PlayStation VR2, meaning players will have the chance to take advantage of its newly revamped motion sensing and tracking, as well as its high-quality OLED screen. Quite the pitch, you could say.

Unfortunately, the studio hasn't announced a release window for the VR-focused game yet. That said, Gaijin has gone ahead and painted a rough image of what future players can expect on day one. And so, if you're curious to learn more, then be sure to read on. Here's everything you need to know about Aces of Thunder.

What Is Aces of Thunder?

Aces of Thunder is an upcoming flight-based online multiplayer game by Gaijin Entertainment, creator of the War Thunder MMO. Billed as a spinoff of the well-loved military game, Aces of Thunder will take its World War II feuds to the skies in an all-new online multiplayer experience built exclusively for the PlayStation VR2.

According to Gaijin, the game will be “distributed on a paid model,” meaning a single copy of the game will entitle its owner to all future updates, planes, and general cosemtics. It hasn't been said yet when any of these updates will be rolling out, though the studio did say that “the game's release date will be announced later.”

Story

From what we've seen to date, Aces of Thunder won't have a story as such, but more a general timeline of events that pertain to World War II. As the game will be online-only, the bulk of the experience will involve engaging in versus matches, along with a multitude of additional modes.

“The game will be focused on the legendary planes of World War II, such as the American fighter P-51 Mustang and British Spitfire, at first, while the future add-ons will bring combat aircraft from other eras,” Gaijin explains. “All game modes in Aces of Thunder will offer competitive online battles with other virtual pilots in different formats…”

Gameplay

Aces of Thunder will be entirely multiplayer-based, which means you can expect the general slew of competitive modes including “team versus team, single duels, with custom settings and more.” As the pilot of an iconic aircraft, you will hold the power of flight in your own two hands, and will, thanks to the VR2, use its motion sensing, eye tracking, and the controller's haptic feedback to immerse in full-frontal, high-octane aerial combat.

“The PlayStation VR2 headset, with its high-quality, high-resolution OLED screen, motion sensing and eye tracking, and new controllers with haptic feedback and touch sensing, will allow players to perfectly experience the feeling of flying and fully immerse in the role of a combat aircraft pilot,” Gaijin boasts. “Physically accurate flight and damage models, derived from the leading War Thunder military action simulation game, further enhance the believability of Aces of Thunder. Battles will always take place exclusively from the cockpit view and with complete control over all flight systems. As a result, players will learn to fly the aircraft almost for real, literally with their hands.”

Development

In a bid to flesh out its War Thunder platform, Gaijin Entertainment made the decision to branch out to a new IP—a flight sim that would harness a lot of the same mechanics as its beloved military MMO. This eventually led to the founding of Aces of Thunder, the VR-ready spin-off that would go on to captivate the community via a minute-long sneak preview.

It's still early days yet, and there's still plenty we don't actually know about Aces of Thunder. Having said that, Gaijin Entertainment will be releasing a new thread of details over the coming months. Here's hoping, then, that we'll get a much deeper insight into its setting and, more importantly, the combat that will supposedly showcase the PlayStation VR2's latest gadgets and gizmos in the best way conceivable.

Trailer

Aces of Thunder received its first, albeit somewhat short trailer earlier this month, painting a vague portrait of the combat and scenery that players can expect to delve into on launch day. It also revealed a few of the gameplay mechanics, too, particularly pertaining to the PlayStation VR2's newly improved motion controls. You can see the preview for yourself in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Aces of Thunder will be coming to PlayStation VR2 later this year. It hasn't been said yet if or when it will be coming to PC VR. If it does shed its PlayStation exclusivity, though, then chances are it'll come to alternative headsets as early as 2024. Try not to quote us on that, though.

So, if it's heading to PlayStation VR, does that technically mean it's in with a chance of getting a day-one launch on PlayStation Plus? In theory, yes. But as Aces of Thunder is heading to VR2—Sony's shiny new kit—it seems unlikely at this point in time. If word of this does drop, however, then we'll update you accordingly.

As Aces of Thunder is still in the preliminary phases of development, it's understandable that Gaijin Entertainment hasn't shed light on any special editions yet. This is likely to change, but again, not until the studio decides to post a further announcement before its eventual launch.

For more information on the Aces of Thunder launch, you can follow the official social handle here. If anything interesting pops up between now and its eventual release, we'll be sure to let you know all of the details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Aces of Thunder when it eventually drops? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here or down in the comments below.