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IFA is, as you'll probably know, a huge annual tech expo held in Berlin. It's also where some of audio-slash-hi-fi's biggest hitters unveil their latest wearable innovations — and this year is one of the best (and most varied) product lineups we've seen to date.

Here, I've chosen the top headphones and earbuds TechRadar saw at IFA 2026 — let me assure you, each member of our team got their 10,000 steps in during the first two days of the event to bring you this (and some of us worked feverishly back in the office, too).

A few of the products in this roundup were nominated for our 25-strong IFA 2026 'Best in Show' awards — and some even won! You'll see the little badge in the top corner of the image, beside their entry.

There's a separate piece for the main winners, though. This missive hones in on the new, noteworthy, and sometimes even slightly 1970s-retro earbuds (Noise, I'm looking at you) and headphones.

Sometimes, I've linked out to our more detailed coverage and early hands-ons of the product, because it's tough to get too granular within this multi-product roundup format.

Ready? Strap in, you're off to Berlin. Willkommen!

Did you want IFA to showcase a lesser-known audio specialist now working with Bose to produce a set of open earbuds that look like something from the original 1960s Star Trek television series? Of course you did. That's why we love IFA.

What you're looking at is the Noise Master Buds Open from Noise, which is actually a leading Indian connected lifestyle and smart technology brand, sometimes known as 'Gonoise', according to the company's website. And the company now wants to go global.

The headline grabber here is, of course, that they're developed in collaboration with Bose and feature Sound by Bose technology, but for me the Master Buds Open's ergonomic clip-on design in such a premium case is also worthy of note.

Co-founder of Noise, Amit Khatri, said at the launch, “The Master Series was envisioned as our definitive expression of premium audio — bringing together thoughtful design, exceptional sound and meaningful consumer experiences. The response to Master Buds, Master Buds 2 and Master Buds Max has been phenomenal, and with Master Buds Open, we are taking the portfolio into its natural next chapter."

Noise has yet to confirm pricing or full specifications for Master Buds Open, but says those details will follow closer to launch slated for late September 2026. And I, for one, will be waiting.

Anyone even mildly interested in keeping their tech charged up will know Belkin for its power banks (and probably phone cases and cables), but its range is diversifying — and it now includes some potential winners in the audio sector.

At IFA 2026, the brand unveiled two new super-affordable pairs of earbuds, each with ANC and asking prices far below any rivals.

The SoundForm Isolate Buds in the images above sell for a very palatable £39.99 (about $54, AU$80), and the SoundForm Dot Buds go for even less, at £29.99 (around $40, AU$60).

True, those names are meaty, but after a quick listen in Berlin, we can tell you that for this money, the audio is too.

Do you need to 'find your why' when it comes to enjoying music? Actually, me neither, but Beyerdynamic's new over-ears are very affordable if a strict budget is your reason for considering them over more flagship sets.

Beyerdynamic is also calling this new model its "most personal headphone yet, designed to adapt to the way you listen," and as you'd expect in 2026, there's active noise cancellation on the menu. But one particular claim on the spec sheet — "more than 90 hours of battery life" — is what really got my attention.

Those four colorways, listed as 'Liquid Black, Blue Fusion, Soft Jade, and Peach Blush,' are certainly striking, but it's not unusual for Beyer to go bold — who could forget the debut of the true wireless guitar-pick shaped Free Byrd or delightfully 8-bit Custom Game headset.

All of this for $149.99 (so around £110 or AU$208)? I put more information on them in my news coverage of these headphones, but I think my why could be their serious stamina for that money, you know.

In one of the more "Wait, really?!" moments at IFA, Baseus unveiled a new model of its still-new open earbuds model.

It seems like only yesterday my colleague was reviewing the Baseus Bowie MC2 cuff-style earbuds (pictured above), which he confirms are some of the best open earbuds for people on a budget.

In truth, it was nearly three weeks ago, but still, for the brand to be back with a follow-up to these buds so soon is very unusual…

Anyway, the wraps have been pulled off the Baseus Bowie MC2 NC, which have one main change over the existing earbuds: the addition of noise cancellation. (You got it from the title, didn't you?)

Now, ANC and an open-ear fit — especially an earcuff-style one — aren't always the best of friends. But we can't wait to see whether Baseus has pulled it off here for a slightly higher asking fee of $99.99 (likely about £99.99, based on the non-NC buds' price of $79.99 / £89.99 or about AU$180), because the product upon which they're built is very good indeed.

Three products in one entry? I don't think you're ready for this 'Jelle'…

JLab has unveiled a few new offerings at IFA, but the highlight is a product we already knew about, but that we're seeing in a new way. Back when they were first unveiled in January, we gave the super-small JLab JBuds Mini ANC an early listen and loved that they'd happily fit on your keychain (with a price cheaper than some actual keychains, too).

Now, these affordable buds officially work with Apple's Find My for the first time (a feat not easy to achieve outside of Apple's AirPods and Beats products), so you can use your iPhone to locate the lost buds. Given that JLab loves the idea of you chaining them to your keys, this effectively means the JBuds' case can replace your AirTag 2. All for $42.99 / £39.99 (about AU$80) for them.

What about the other two products? There's the JBuds Open Sport 2, which are new hook-style open earbuds that act as an update to the JBuds Open Sport (surprise surprise), and will cost $52.99 / £49.99 (about AU$100). Then, there's the JBuds Go Sport ANC, which are due to sell in mid-September for $42.99 / £39.99 (about AU$80) — and we have some more details in our news coverage of the release.

And what of the Jelle? It's a new range of color options based on gel nail colors and is launching for the headliner Mini ANC, as well as the JBuds Luxe, which will sell for $84.99 / £79.99 (around AU$160) in these new finishes. You know how most headphones are often very 'matte black plastic'? These are shiny. No, really, they're shiny.

These winsome Philips wireless headphones launch in October 2026, and the brand claims they tote its "most intelligent active noise control yet".

You also get custom 36mm ceramic-coated dome drivers with woven silk suspension, LDAC for better-quality audio (ideal for Android owners), plus Bluetooth 6.0 with the more efficient LC3 codec, and Auracast support.

The Fidelio L5 also offer wired hi-resolution audio up to 96khz/24bit via a wired USB-C connection, up to 60 hours of battery life (or 50 with ANC deployed) and a five-mic system for call and noise-cancelling quality.

Replaceable components are the name of the game at IFA this year (thanks to the EU's legislation on user-replaceable batteries), and the Philips Fidelio L5 are built with that in mind. Philips tells me that both the ear cushions and the rechargeable battery can be easily replaced by the consumer.

The Philips Headphones app with 'AI Neural EQ' and spatial audio support round out what seems a versatile and long-lasting set of cans, on paper at least — and for extra marks, the L5 also incorporate GRS-certified recycled plastic and the packaging uses FSC-certified recycled cardboard with inserts printed on recycled paper.

The Philips Fidelio L5 over-ear wireless headphones will be available from October 2026 for € 199.99 / GBP £179.99 (so around $243 or AU$339, where sold), and although they look like a more standard set of cans than other entries in this list, sometimes you just want good ANC headphones. And, my music-loving friend, that is why I'm here.

The best wearable technology serves up real-world benefits, and what could be more beneficial than some decent shut-eye? What you're looking at is the Soundcore Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro, which use in-ear PPG optical sensors to monitor your heart rate — and really rather accurately, thanks to the rich capillaries within your ear canal. Said monitoring delivers data to the buds' smart-screen, effectively making that part of the package a phone-free SleepHub charging case.

The Sleep Earbuds Pro also offer 30dB active noise cancellation, and there's a snore monitoring system in the case to detect and mask the sound of your partner (or dog) snoring. Despite all of the tech stuffed inside the buds, the driver housing is actually thinner than previous generations, which should be even more comfortable for side sleepers.

How else can they help you get a decent night's sleep? Why, with audio, of course! Anker's BioSync dynamic audio system monitors your relaxation in real time, adjusting the audio content to help you find the most effective route to the land of nod. I'm feeling sleepy already.

EarFun made its name delivering premium headphones and earbuds without the premium price tag, and the Wave Pro X are probably the company's best example of that in action yet.

Yes, they were announced a little while ago (and delayed following the announcement to get the tuning just perfect), but they're very much here now — and they are award-worthy, thank you very much. Their patented dual-driver system puts a 40mm diamond-like carbon driver and 10mm liquid crystal polymer driver on a precisely aligned axis, with the aim of a more natural and integrated sound than you sometimes get from multi-driver solutions.

The Wave Pro X also features an 8-mic AI system to continuously optimize the onboard hybrid ANC system, even in wired mode, and the Qualcomm QCC3095 Bluetooth 6.0 chipset brings aptX Lossless, LDAC, Auracast, and USB Audio to the table. Add AI translation and up to 90 hours of battery life to the spec sheet, and you've got yourself a superb pair of headphones.

Plaud One is less a 'regular set of earbuds' and more a 'wearable AI companion'. This product combines three key features: wearable conversation capture, context that builds across day-to-day conversations, and AI that can analyze data and take appropriate action.

The buds can capture online meetings, face-to-face discussions, and phone calls, and they have built-in eSIM and 4G LTE for phone-free operation.

What makes Plaud One different? The product understands context. Rather than treating each recording as a standalone transcript, it can retain information across multiple discussions — so a chat from one meeting can be stitched to a later conversation or call.

This upgrade enables the Plaud Agent to help you take further steps, identifying actionable tasks and completing them across tools such as Google Calendar, Gmail, and Slack.

• GoPro CEO Nick Woodman has released a statement following concern around the company's "merger" with Starman
• He provides assurances that the company is committed to making consumer cameras
• But there are no concrete commitments – and a disclaimer list that's longer than the statement itself

GoPro has been in the spotlight over the past couple of days following the announcement of its "merger" with Starman Optical Inc, a private optical photonics company that few of us had heard of before two days ago.

The announcement caused a heap of speculation among GoPro enthusiasts, much of it negative. Consumer cameras were barely mentioned, with GoPro's output being described as "industry-leading imaging solutions featuring innovative, advanced optics, market-defining technology and an associated IP portfolio."

A quote from GoPro CEO Nick Woodman described GoPro's ambitions following the merger to be to grow across "commercial and defense markets as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company, addressing important areas of national security related to cameras, optics and AI infrastructure".

For a lot of people — myself included — alarm bells started ringing. It sounded a lot like GoPro would be pivoting away from consumer cameras. This backlash has clearly reached Woodman, as he has released a follow-up statement. In a letter addressed directly to the "GoPro community, fans and customers", he provides assurances that the company is still wholeheartedly committed to making cameras, and that there are no plans for this to change.

"Making amazing cameras for all of you is our core DNA and reason for being and that will never change!" Woodman says.

He describes how GoPro's improved financial situation following Starman's wiping of its debts will allow the company to "innovate, invent and advance the future of consumer and professional content creation". He acknowledges that GoPro is going to become a more "diversified" company, but that this should improve its financial situation and allow it to keep on making and releasing cameras.

And he finishes with one more assurance that GoPro is going to keep on making "the world’s highest-performance cameras and building the products, services and innovations that help you capture life’s most exciting moments. "It’s what we were founded to do and it’s what we will always do", says Woodman.

Reading Woodman's full letter, there are a couple of things that immediately jump out. One is that he stops short of making any concrete commitments — nary a hint of "we plan to release [X] number of cameras by [X] date" or anything similar. Another is that the list of disclaimers at the bottom is twice as long as Woodman's actual statement. In the disclaimers, we are unambiguously reminded that "forward-looking statements" are subject to "risks, uncertainties, and assumptions", and that material outcomes in reality may differ.

As evidence to support GoPro's commitment to image-making, Woodman points out that the company has accrued more than 2500 patents over the last 24 years. Which is very commendable, but the discerning reader will likely point out that these patents were all made before GoPro was bought up by a defense-focused AI optics company. As such, they don't do much to address the substance of people's concerns.

So, while it is nice to see Woodman saying something directly to GoPro customers following the alarmingly vague statement that was made to announce the merger, I wouldn't fully relax just yet. Ultimately, the real test of GoPro's commitment to cameras is going to come over the next few years as we see what the company releases.

Following the aftermath of the Manchester Airports Group cyberattack - where hackers made off with the data of 8.7 million people - the hackers have now posted the entire database for sale on the dark web.

The group behind the attack, FulcrumSec, attempted to get Manchester Airports Group (MAG) to pay for the security of the database, promising that it wouldn’t be released if the company paid a settlement. But as all companies should do when faced with extortion, MAG didn’t play ball.

Now FulcrumSec wants to try and maximise the damage of the cyberattack, and has listed the database containing email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes online in the hopes a fellow hacking group will find value in the data.

In the past, when companies faced ransomware attacks or data breaches, they would sometimes quietly pay the hackers for their silence.

Companies feared serious reputational harm and loss of business would cost more in the long run than the perpetrators were asking for. But this created an incentive for hackers to carry out more attacks.

After all, if companies aren’t kicking up a fuss about being hacked or reporting the attack to the authorities, hacking groups can launch more attacks on other companies that are completely unaware of their tactics.

Got an opinion for us? Here’s how you can submit your perspective

In order to counter this, authorities and cyber experts from around the world issued guidance that under no circumstances should companies pay for the safe return of their data. By removing the incentive from ransomware attacks and data breaches, the hope is that hackers will get bored or not see enough ROI, and therefore stop.

But the 500GB database of data on over 8.7 million people is ripe pickings for other cybercriminals looking to launch highly specific phishing attacks or scam campaigns. While FulcrumSec may not make any money from the attack, they can seriously enhance the damage of the attack by offering the data for free for others to use.

A successful scam or phishing attack can steal banking and financial details, allowing other groups to steal even more money off the back of the attack.

• Dray Agha, senior manager of security operations at Huntress:

While Manchester Airports Group followed official guidance by refusing to pay the ransom, the release of 8.7 million records creates an immediate risk for passengers.

The release of 8.7 million records creates an immediate risk for passengers

We expect other criminals to use this freely available database of vehicle registrations, postcodes and contact details to craft highly convincing phishing attacks.

Anyone who has used parking, lounges or Wi-Fi at these airports must treat unexpected messages about their travel with extreme caution.

• Muhammad Yahya Patel, vCISO and cybersecurity advisor for EMEA at Huntress

The "free release" model is deliberately designed to maximise harm and reputational damage as a warning to the next target.

It's a marketing campaign aimed at every other organisation watching

Publishing almost nine million records for free isn't just punishment for MAG it's a marketing campaign aimed at every other organisation watching.

Pay up, or your customers' data gets handed to every fraudster and scammer on the internet at no cost. Refusing to pay a ransom is the right call. But nearly nine million people are now paying a different price for a decision that was never theirs to make.

• Danny Jenkins, Co Founder & CEO at ThreatLocker

Unfortunately, once data is made public, it can’t be hidden again. The most important thing consumers can do is focus on basic cyber hygiene. Use a unique password for every website, learn how to identify phishing scams, and monitor your credit report.

Be highly suspicious of emails that create a sense of urgency, offer something that seems too good to be true, or ask you to reset your password.

Be highly suspicious of emails that create a sense of urgency, offer something that seems too good to be true, or ask you to reset your password.

When in doubt, look up the phone number for the alleged sender yourself, rather than using a number provided in the email, and call to confirm whether the communication is genuine.

• Brian Higgins, security specialist at Comparitech:

Whilst the airports breached in this attack don't appear to have had any financial data compromised the risk to affected or associated customers is very real. With so much other information freely available in the wild it is vital that airport users stay highly vigilant for some time to come.

Research advice from trusted sources like the NCA or Information Commissioner and share it with your family and friends.

Any and all unsolicited contact; whether online, by telephone or even home visit approaches, should be viewed as suspicious. Never engage until you've taken time to check credentials/veracity etc.

Research advice from trusted sources like the NCA or Information Commissioner and share it with your family and friends. Look for ways to increase digital and physical security like two factor authentication on Apps and devices or Smart Home tech.

When this breach was first reported by the Manchester Evening News the comments were quite telling. Affected parties were quick to identify potential vulnerabilities over and above the breach of financial and banking details.

Home addresses, vehicle registrations and time spent away from home all add up to some excellent opportunities for criminal exploitation, not to mention the usual follow-up phishing campaigns common in this type of incident.

As AI makes data aggregation swift and easy consumers are waking up to the fact that criminals can monetise successful breaches in increasingly inventive ways. It’s no longer enough for data owning organisations to advise post-attack vigilance and turn to their backups.

Victim communities rightly expect better protected networks and systems over and above established norms. As the marketplace grows less fearful and more angry when breaches are made public we may see more emphasis on cyber crime prevention which can only be a good thing.

• Denis Calderone, CTO at Suzu Labs:

The 8.7 million number is attention-grabbing, but it deserves some context. MAG has confirmed that the vast majority of those records are email addresses collected through airport WiFi sign-ups.

A much smaller subset includes phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes from customers who actually completed parking or lounge bookings.

What remains unclear is whether the data was exfiltrated directly from that third-party environment or whether it was pulled back through MAG's network first.

No payment data, no passwords, no passport information. So despite this affecting airports, which is obviously a sensitive subject, the actual data sensitivity for most affected individuals is relatively low.

What's more interesting to us from a technical standpoint is the attack path. MAG told The Register that attackers compromised one of their internal systems and then went on to steal files from a database hosted by a third party. That's a pivot upstream into a data provider, not downstream into operational systems.

What remains unclear is whether the data was exfiltrated directly from that third-party environment or whether it was pulled back through MAG's network first. That distinction matters for understanding where detection controls failed and who was responsible for monitoring the egress.

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority has a Cyber Assessment Framework for Aviation, developed with the NCSC, that mandates strict separation between IT systems and operational technology.

We don't know whether MAG was formally operating under that framework at the time of this incident, but I would be very interested to find out. Because the segmentation appears to have held here. Flight operations, baggage handling, terminal systems, etc., all were unaffected.

The lateral movement went upstream toward a data provider, not downstream toward the systems that keep planes in the air.

• Seemant Sehgal, CEO and Founder at BreachLock:

This data was initially collected because passengers needed a login, and somewhere along the way, the sensitivity of what was accumulating in that database stopped getting the same scrutiny as the network itself.

Whoever held it for ransom understood its value better than the organization storing it did

Vehicle registration details, postcodes, and contact information across three major airports are a profiling dataset, and whoever held it for ransom understood its value better than the organization storing it did.

If you have an expert perspective you would like to share on an emerging story or particular topic, please get in contact here: benedict.collins@futurenet.com

Sonos recently announced that it's launching a new soundbar to fill the gap between the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the Sonos Arc Ultra — it's called (perhaps predictably) the Sonos Beam Ultra. It's launching on September 29th 2026, and it costs $699 / £699 / AU$1,099.

It's small, like the regular Beam, but it features nine drivers to deliver 7.1.2 channels of Dolby Atmos, including upfiring drivers (which the Beam doesn't have).

Sonos' promise is that it's a bigger, more expansive, and meatier home theater experience than the regular Beam, and I got a chance to listen to a demo — though we'll have a full and in-depth review later when we can test more thoroughly.

But my time with the Beam Ultra was enough to really impress me. We started by listening to some music in Dolby Atmos, and the soundbar was extremely good at separating the sound from the hardware — the audio felt spaced across the whole room in front of me, rather than feeling like it was emitting from a compact soundbar.

Bass dispersion was really impressive, as was a feeling of 'airiness', in a good way, to vocals and positional instrument effects. Every element felt like it was able to float in the room very naturally and individually.

Switching to something bass-heavy, which is an area Sonos says it specifically wanted to improve, what stood out to me was the weight of the mid-bass. Often, in smaller speakers, this is where things fall off — they might be tuned to give good punch at their lowest point, but can't always maintain good strength as they move towards the mid-range.

There was no problem with that here: bass felt really solid throughout the range. Being a small soundbar, it's not like it can hit hard on really low-end frequencies, but there's loads of presence across the bass, so it feels satisfying.

Switching to movies and TV, we watched a clip from the Apple TV+ show Widow's Bay, emphasizing the improvement to the clarity of the center channel — dialogue came through clear over background noise.

But the real test was watching Sinners, in the big music scene of I Lied to You, which has become a common demo scene for companies to use. I was so impressed by the positional Dolby Atmos effects of elements that were way off to the side — the width was far better than other small soundbars, and was better than most big soundbars I've tested.

There's a real sense of instruments being positioned right in the far forward corners of the room, a good six feet beyond the edges of the TV we were watching, let alone beyond the edges of the small soundbar.

However, when we get it in to review, I want to test the height channels more deliberately. I wasn't feeling a lot of height effect from the demo — which might have been for a few reasons, so I can't cast judgment against the Beam Ultra for it yet. We'll be keeping an ear out for it, though.

I also got to try the same scene using the Sonos system's new ability to add some portable speakers as rear satellite speakers for surround sound. Two Sonos Play speakers were brought in and placed just behind me, and they instantly connected to the soundbar without needing the app at all.

A little tone emitted from the Beam Ultra to indicate that the Plays had connected themselves, but all the detection and connection is done invisibly by the system, and it seemed really slick.

The Plays made for a really good set of rear speakers in the demo, too — I got really clear positional effects from them, and they have a great dynamic range for movies.

Sonos confirmed that with the Plays (or a pair of Sonos Move 2 speakers, or static rear options such as the Sonos Era 100) connected, it can describe the system as a 7.1.4-channel setup, though the extra two height channels will be virtualized.

I was surprised that Sonos went with the small size of the Beam for a soundbar to sit below the Arc Ultra in its range, because I assumed that would mean a compromise on how expansive it would be — that's definitely not a concern for me anymore, and I'm really looking forward to hearing how it handles our movie library in our test rooms.

In the packed halls of Gamescom with so many games to see, it's easy to get tetchy if a session goes on for too long when there's another appointment you have to rush off to see. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve was a rare exception where I wished I had more to go on than I was given.

On one hand, the Ace Combat series' appeal is a straightforward one. It captures the thrill of flying a fighter jet locked in aerial dogfights without the intimidating knowledge of actually operating an aircraft like Microsoft Flight Simulator, but with more control than a rail shooter like Star Fox.

A new instalment coming just a few years after a new Top Gun movie is even more tantalising for anyone eager to take to the skies like Tom Cruise.

That the series also takes place in an alternate world called Strangereal, which nonetheless looks like our own, means you can enjoy the immersive realism without being drawn into the awkward politics of any real-world conflicts.

For the mission I got to play, titled 'The Fall of the Numbered Fleets', there's already a sense of a meaty narrative to get into, as my squadron, Joker Flight of the Federation of Central Usea (FCU), is tasked with launching an offensive to strike fleets belonging to the invading forces from the Republic of Sotoa.

An added wrinkle is that you also have to contend with a once-friendly squadron nicknamed the Sharks, who have recently defected.

This drama plays out during the mission; banter zips between your fellow wingmen Baxter and Tasha over the radio as you approach the targets on Newfield Island before being interrupted by enemy Sotoan chatter when you manage to deal damage to their fleet and supplies. And of course, it's only a matter of time before the Sharks turn up as sparks fly between factions that wouldn't be out of place in an anime if it wasn't for the game's realistic aesthetic.

Although you have targets to destroy, there are also different approaches you can take to tackle an objective, such as customising your loadout at the beginning. While there's a lot of information on the UI that can feel intimidating, it felt readable when a missile is definitely locked onto a target, while an outline below makes it clear where your bomb will drop when trying to sink ships.

There's a simple satisfaction to see the green display change from 'Hit' to 'Destroyed,' but if you really want to showboat, you can even switch to the camera looking back to enjoy the explosion in your wake.

If 2019's Ace Combat 7: Unknown Skies had already set a new bar for the series' realistic visuals and combat aircraft, then Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve raises it again, not just with Unreal Engine 5 but also with Bandai Namco Aces' own upgraded Cloudly tech.

That said, I spent most of my time a little too close to the ground (a prompt repeatedly telling me to pull up) when trying to aim for targets on land and sea to properly experience getting into the clouds. Yet that showcased another visual leap too, as all the objects you see are rendered at a 1:1 scale. So instead of flying over flat textures or miniatures, you really do feel immersed in the world. That also allows for setpieces such as a moment when you can fly your aircraft through a tunnel to reach an airbase stationed on the other side.

But for anyone who enjoyed the sheer action spectacle of Top Gun: Maverick, it wasn't the action alone that made it a great watch; it was all the other human drama unfolding in between the training, so that you become invested in the characters you want to succeed. Even though I'm not sure any of the characters in Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve are likely to have the same star power and charisma as Tom Cruise, that is something I still wish I could have seen more of in this relatively brief Gamescom demo.

As the first entry to have its story play out through a first-person perspective, it's surely meant to provide a more immersive way to spend time in the company of your wingmen, not just during mission briefings but also when catching up in the canteen or other bouts of R&R.

Having the in-mission banter is nonetheless also a key element, as are the small narrative choices you can make, such as in the demo where Baxter wants one of the Sharks pilots captured alive and asks that you only shoot around his cockpit, to which you can agree, or not.

But with the game's launch not far away, and arriving in time for the series' 30th anniversary, it's looking like Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is going to soar to a whole new plane.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve releases on October 2, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Advance access is available from September 28 for those who pre-order the deluxe edition.