Bandai Namco partners with studio Ilca to form Bandai Namco Aces division

destructoid.com:

Long-time publisher Bandai Namco has announced that it has partnered with Japanese studio Ilca to form a brand new development division, monikered Bandai Namco Aces.

“With the recent remarkable growth of the global game market, the demand for more high-end games is increasing,” wrote Bandai Namco Aces on its new website. “On this basis, in order to deliver high-end games that exceed the expectations of fans around the world, we have decided to establish a new company to strengthen our capacities to develop games with hyper-photorealistic expression.”

“Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. has cultivated its expertise in game production through its production of the Tekken series and the Ace Combat series. Ilca has the technical capabilities to produce high-quality content using state-of-the-art technology. Going forward, while leveraging the strengths and know-how of both companies, we will continue to deliver high-quality contents that can be played in-depth and for a long time to fans around the world.”

The Ilca team will lead development in the new division, assisted by its new vice president, Kazutoki Kono. Kono is a veteran producer and director of the popular flight adventure series Ace Combat. And given the “Aces” branding of Bandai Namco’s new division, one would assume that it is set to be preliminarily focused on the dogfighting series, which is now in its 27th year.

The most recent title in the series, Ace Combat 7, came out in 2019 on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The acclaimed release recently received new content in the form of a Top Gun: Maverick DLC drop.