Ace Combat 8 in the Pipeline; AC7 Was the Biggest Hit in the Series
Ace Combat 7 became the biggest bestseller in the history of the series. So there was no surprise when the developers confirmed that the production of the next installment has already started.
Project Aces announced that a new installment of Ace Combat, a series of arcade flight sims, is in production. This was announced during the stream organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the franchise.
During the broadcast, the creators also boasted that sales of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown exceeded 3 million copies. Thus, the game became the biggest bestseller in the history of the series. The previous leader was Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, released in 2001, which found 2.64 million buyers within seven years of its release.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown was released in January 2019 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, and a month later also on PC. In January this year the devs boasted 2.5 million copies sold, so the game continues to find new buyers at a good pace.
AC7 effectively resurrected interest in the franchise, so it's no surprise that work is already underway on the next installment. Interestingly, series producer Kazutoki Kono has admitted that Project Aces is currently too small to meet the demands of fans on its own. Therefore, there are plans to increase the size of the team, and the new installment of the series is being created in cooperation with the Japanese studio ILCA.
The latter developer has previously assisted with work on the brand - it was responsible, among others, for the cutscenes in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown and co-created locations in that game. This time, however, its role will be greatly expanded. In recent years, the team began to create their own projects more often - they are responsible for, among others The Idolmaster: Starlit Season and the upcoming Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl. Kazutoki Kono assures that he and the rest of the team at Project Aces will continue to work on the Ace Combat series, but they need help if they are to meet the expectations.
