Ace Combat 6 confirmed for Xbox 360

Rumors surfaced last week that Namco Bandai Games was embracing the Xbox 360 in a big way with versions of Katamari Damacy, Ace Combat, and Warhammer: Mark of Chaos for the console. The publisher partially confirmed those rumors today, as it announced it will bring Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation to Microsoft's console later this year.

Fires of Liberation will incorporate an "allied support system" whereby players can issue commands to friendly land, sea, and air forces to coordinate attacks. Furthermore, it will mark the first time an Ace Combat has featured online multiplayer action, with deathmatch, team deathmatch, and co-op modes to complement global online leaderboards.

This is the first time the series will appear on a non-Sony console, although a version was made for Nintendo's portable Game Boy Advance. In conjunction with the announcement, a pair of themes and a picture pack for Fires of Liberation were released on the Xbox Live Marketplace today.

Namco Bandai is planning a worldwide launch for Fires of Liberation later this year but has specified that the European release date has not yet been determined.