Gaijin Entertainment shipped the “One Sky for All” update for Aces of Thunder on September 14, 2026. The headline change is the one the multiplayer crowd has been asking for since launch: PC and PlayStation 5 players now share the same battles and matchmaking queues by default.
That is not a rumor or a roadmap tease. It is in Gaijin’s official patch notes for the day. PlayStation 5 owners who want a console-only pool can opt out in Settings. The same Options tab also lets PS5 players limit leaderboards to PlayStation specifically.
Why crossplay matters here
Aces of Thunder launched February 3, 2026 on PlayStation VR2 / PS5 and Steam as a cockpit-only WWII (and WWI) dogfight sim built on War Thunder’s flight and damage models. The player base is small by design — VR flight sims rarely fill 32-player rooms on a single platform. Gaijin had been “pushing hard to allow players from different platforms to meet in battles” as early as its June 11, 2026 notes. Today’s patch closes that gap.
Default is shared queues. Opt-out is explicit for PS5. That is the cleanest framing of the change.
Three DLC airframes and more map traffic
Alongside crossplay, Gaijin unlocked three aircraft as separate DLC packs that had been previewed over the summer:
- Ju 87 D-5
- I-16 Type 27
- Bf 109 Z-1 Zwilling
Two new single-player missions arrive as well: Zero Fuel and Convoy Hunter. Matchmaking also gains more operational variety — Khalkhin Gol (USSR vs Japan), Tunisia (Germany vs USA), and Pas-de-Calais for WWI traffic, plus related Custom Battle and Team Death Match entries.
Controls, VR seating, and PS5 contacts
The notes are long on quality-of-life. New bindable auxiliaries cover collimator sight, cockpit lights, and canopy open/close. A Multi-Function Menu bug that could steal spatial control is listed as fixed. Default VR head positions were retuned across a long list of airframes, from the Bf 110 G-2 and Hurricane Mk.IV to the Fokker Dr.I and FW-190 A-4.
On PlayStation 5, the Contacts menu tab is now available, and global nickname search lands so you no longer have to share a battle before adding someone. Player cards consolidate stats and contact actions.
Gaijin asks bug reports through community.gaijin.net. The game remains a paid title on Steam and PlayStation Store; both Standard and Deluxe editions are currently discounted on PlayStation through September 23, per a separate September 9 store notice.
Sources: Gaijin — Update “One Sky for All” (Sept 14, 2026); Aces of Thunder news index; Gaijin product page; Steam app 2754090.