Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation is the seventh installment of the franchise, developed by Project Aces and published by , and released in October 2007 for the Xbox 360, as well as being made backwards compatible on Xbox One in January 2019. It is the first game in the franchise to be released exclusively for the , rather than a platform as had been done with previous titles, and the first to include online multiplayer modes and downloadable content. Like other titles in 's series, Ace Combat 6 features standard gameplay from the series that mixes with authentic .
While the game encompasses a variety of licensed, real-world fighter jets and aircraft, the game's story takes place within Strangereal, the fictional world setting of the series. The game's main campaign focuses on the sudden invasion of a nation by its neighbours, and the subsequent efforts by its armed forces to retake back their country and its capitol, with players taking command of the pilot of a two-plane squadron that assists in this effort. Unlike other games in the series in which the events are narrated from a single perceptive, the story's events are interlaced with a series of side-stories told by various figures, describing their personal struggles and opinions regarding the ongoing conflict as it progresses.
- While gameplay elements from previous titles persist in Ace Combat 6, the game's main campaign features more extensively detailed missions
- New elements include the majority of single-player missions featuring a multitude of objectives to complete,
- in which players need only achieve a certain quota of these to progress to the later stages of a mission,
- and the ability to call in support from allied units during a mission. The game received generally favourable reviews upon release