Armored Core is a 1997 third-person shooter mecha video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was originally released in Japan by FromSoftware in July 1997 and in North America in October 1997 and Europe in 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game is the first entry in the Armored Core series. A digital port was released in 2007 in Japan and 2015 in North America on the PlayStation Network as a part of the PSone Classics line of games.

In science fiction, mecha or mechs are giant robots or machines typically depicted as piloted and as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword 'mechanism' or 'mechanical' , but the meaning in Japanese is more inclusive, and 'robot' or 'giant robot' is the narrower term.