I mean, if you were Bandai Namco with Ace Combat up your sleeve and a new Top Gun movie came out, you'd ask to play shirtless volleyball too, right?

Yep, makes about as much sense as this crossover does from a narrative sense, but you still wanna see it regardless. And so here we are -- Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown picking up the requisite licensing rights to drop an all-new DLC pack on us, themed to the long-in-the-wings sequel to the seminal Tom Cruise classic Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick.



I feel like I should have requested some sort of fly-by with that jumble of an intro, so from here on out these are the official orders that have been handed down:

At long last, the collaboration generations of ACE COMBAT fans have been waiting for is finally ready for deployment. We’re excited to announce that ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN will deliver Top Gun-themed aircraft, emblems, and the “Top Gun Anthem”, “Danger Zone” in multiplayer mode as part of its TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft Set available today!

The TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft Set paid DLC package will feature new playable aircraft, including the F/A-18E Super Hornet< | Top Gun: Maverick (The Boeing Company) and the F-14A Tomcat | Top Gun: Maverick (Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation), from the movie. Additionally, there will be a special Top Gun: Maverick collaboration emblem and to top things off, the aforementioned “ Danger Zone “ (arranged by Keiki Kobayashi) will be available as background music in multiplayer mode.

The TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft Set DLC includes:

• New playable aircrafts
  • F/A-18E Super Hornet | Top Gun: Maverick (The Boeing Company)
    
  • F-14A Tomcat | Top Gun: Maverick (Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation)
    
  • 5th Gen Fighter | Top Gun: Maverick
    
  • Dark Star
    
  • F-14A Tomcat
    
  • F/A-18E Super Hornet
  Emblems and Callsigns from the film
  • Total of 10 Emblems including Maverick, Hangman, Payback, Rooster, and Bob, along with two logos from the film.
    
  • Total of 12 Callsigns including Goose, Cougar, and more!
  Music based on classic tracks for play in multiplayer mode
  • "Top Gun Anthem" (arranged by Keiki Kobayashi)
    
  • "Danger Zone" (arranged by Keiki Kobayashi)
  Additionally, two new editions of ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN are now available on PS4, Xbox One and Steam*:
  ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN - TOP GUN: Maverick Edition
  • ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN game
    
  • Playable Aircraft F-104C: Avril
    
  • TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft Set
  ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN - TOP GUN: Maverick Ultimate Edition
  ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN game
  
  • Playable Aircraft F-104C: Avril
    
  • Additional content included in Season pass
    
  TOP GUN: Maverick Aircraft Set

*Please be careful not to purchase duplicate copies of the main game, stand-alone DLC or set DLC containing the same content.

This collab feels like a long time coming, but I can't help but feel like there could have been more. Like maybe what's here was simply ejected too... early.

All of the above is available now, while Top Gun: Maverick is also in cinemas all over the country -- go see it.