New Ace Combat title prepping for takeoff at Pokemon studio ILCA

More 25th anniversary DLC headed to Ace Combat 7

Yesterday, Bandai Namco held a special presentation to celebrate 25 years of sky-fighting sim Ace Combat, which first took the skies on PlayStation way back in the mid-1990s. As part of the Japanese live stream, the publisher revealed that a brand new Ace Combat is currently in the works at Project Aces and ILCA. No release window was revealed.

“We’ve started work on a new project in the Ace Combat series,” said producer Kazutoki Kono, in comments printed by Gematsu. “Project Aces staff will of course continue to be involved in the development of this new project, but as we celebrate 25 years and three 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.”

To this end, Kono turned to the adaptable team at ILCA, who previously worked on titles such as The Idolmaster: Starlit Season, and the upcoming Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. ILCA does have some pedigree with Ace Combat, having worked on the cinematics and environments for the last entry, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.

Speaking of which, Skies Unknown will receive a brand new DLC drop on August 31 to celebrate the series’ anniversary. As spotlit in the trailer above, the 25th Anniversary Skin Series DLC pack will feature three very flashy skins, as well as six brand new multiplayer music tracks — pulled from Ace Combat‘s storied history.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.