New Ace Combat in development at Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl studio

We’re getting a new Ace Combat. Longtime series developer Project Aces broke the news as part of the team’s celeration of the 25th anniversary of the action flight series.

The new game, however, will not be directly developed by Project Aces. Instead, the project is in the works at ILCA, the team respoinsible for the upcoming Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. ILCA previously contribued to environment and cinematics in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, and has worked on other big-name franchises like Dragon Quest, Metal Gear Rising and others.

Series producer Kazutoki Kono said that while Project Aces will be overseeing development, ILCA was brought in because the team can’t handle development duties on its own.

“Project Aces staff will of course continue to be involved in the development of this new project, but as we celebrate 25 years and 3 million copies sold, we’ve come to understand we have many fans of all tastes. Our small team can’t handle it all alone, so we’re looking to expand the Ace Combat team in a big way,” said Kono.

“That’s why we want to form a business alliance with ILCA, who will become more deeply involved in the Ace Combat series than ever before, and create a new Ace Combat. We hope this opportunity will allow us to add even more staff to the Project Aces team.”

Kono said the new Ace Combat will usher in a new era for the series, promising to “continue to give it my all.”

Thanks, Gematsu.