Namco Bandai has confirmed that the next chapter in the Ace Combat franchise is on track and headed to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The new Ace Combat title will be called Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

Assault Horizon is said to take the game in a new direction, yet still offer the intense action and aerial maneuvers that the franchise has been famous for. The game will offer a number of real word locations and pluck some of the missions out of the today’s headlines.

The game is targeted to be on retailer shelves October 11th in North America, and October 14th for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. It will be available in both a standard edition as well as a European only limited edition bundle that adds the soundtrack, exclusive aircraft download content, and a notebook signed by the development team.

The European only limited edition will come in a special painted steel bookcase. For those in Europe that want the limited edition version, we suggest that you pre-order, as numbers will be limited. It is unlikely that the limited edition will be available outside Europe. We are told that the decision to offer the limited edition in Europe only is due to the popularity of the franchise and the desire to offer something unique in that market space.