In a new press release, Bandai Namco and developer ILCA have officially established a partnership that resulted in Bandai Namco Aces, a new company that will be delivering “high-quality content” with a focus on the Ace Combat series.
Takuya Iwasaki, a longtime producer for Bandai Namco, will be heading up the new company as President and CEO. He opened the press release with a message:
We have started a project that is also our slogan, "Crossing Genres and Borders!". Why don't we all take off into a new world utilizing high-end 3DCG?
The era of Singularity by AI is just around the corner. As a member of the Bandai Namco Group, I will pass on the future that I have envisioned for a long time to the next generation.
To this end, we will continue to work together with creators in the game and computer graphics industries and game players around the world as one organization, and create experiences that enables them to be a task force.
As the digital twin/mirror world evolves toward the year 2040, please look forward to the entertainment we will create.
Kazutoki Kono, the longtime key visual person for the Ace Combat series, will be joining Bandai Namco Aces as Executive Vice President.
The new studio will not only be looking to work on future Ace Combat titles but other unannounced projects as well. That said, the studio has not yet revealed its future plans other than announcing its “capacities to develop games with hyper-photorealistic expression.”
ILCA, which stands for I Love Computer Art, is best known for its work on Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown and Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. Their most recent high-profile work, however, was seen to be quite left-field. ILCA headed up the development of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the 2021 remakes of the hit Nintendo DS titles from 2006.
Their latest working project with Bandai Namco before the Bandai Namco Aces announcement is One Piece Odyssey, an action RPG set in the ever-popular One Piece universe of manga and anime. It is set for release on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam sometime later this 2022.
