Ace Combat 8's story may be setting up Electrosphere perfectly, and here's how:
WINGS OF THEVE: SYMBOL OF HOPE? PROPAGANDA? BOTH?
What we know of the Ace Combat 8 story is that it's inspired by the Ghost of Kyiv from real life, a fictional ace who took down legions of fighters to defend his homeland who was in reality a knowingly fabricated social media trend from videos of different pilots. AC8 takes it a step further, turning the Wings of Theve into a real title to be passed on to whoever is left to fight and keep hope alive, with our player character being the one to carry the torch after the OG Rex dies.
I believe that the social media angle will play a big role in the themes of this story in more ways than one. It can explore how social media alters the truth and impacts how war is fought, and how narratives start and end. The Wings of Theve is a symbol of hope for the citizens of the FCU, but does that not make it propaganda? Who's the one that decides that distinction, how far will that line blur over the course of the story? Rex may go from a symbol of hope to an unwilling mascot for the future leaders of Usea: General Resource LTD.
Project Aces has been open about considering AC3 canon and they have stated that the future of Strangereal still points to AC3 taking place in the 2040's. We're likely only 11-20 years off from AC3, and several of the events that lead to AC3 have supposedly already taken place in lore. For those who don’t know, Ace Combat 3 is about a war between two mega-corporations in Usea: General Resource and Neucom. General Resource is the first company to dominate the Usean continent before Neucom begins expanding. Neucom does seem to exist at least two decades before AC3, but General Resource is believed to be the first megacorp to rise to multinational power.
THE RISE OF GENERAL RESOURCE: 2040 IS CLOSER THAN WE THINK
According to the lore of AC3, In-sa-net Telegraph and Telephone Communication, the Usea communications agency, was privatized in 2023 and subsequently bought out by General Resource LTD soon after, giving them complete authority over Usea communications (reminder that this was written in 1999, so social media didn't exist IRL but it's safe to assume that the comms agency includes social media these days). Since General Resource bought out what was effectively Usea's FCC, they likely had power over the clearly weak FCU government for what programs are favored and how online communications are regulated. By 2035 GR also made their own streaming service/massively popular TV channel.
General Resource also created Data Swallow, the Operating System that became the standard OS for the entire world. In AC7 there is a billboard Data Swallow advertising a new version of the software.
During the events of Ace Combat 7 the worldwide communications network is shut down, leaving a big empty vacuum for GR to fill in with their own forms of communication. Given that things have changed IRL since 1999, including our predictions for the future (Zoom calls were considered futuristic in AC3, so expect retcons on what the Electrosphere and associated technology is), I expect GR's buyout of the major media corporations to be equivalent to social media and internet providers today, and Project Aces may be intending this to be the case.
So, Wings of Theve goes from a propaganda piece for the FCU to one for GR, because who's supplying the FCU military? Also General Resource.
Multiple Ace Combat games have a corporate sponsor that you can see during briefings. Ustio has Axe & Hammer, Emmeria has Macmillan Heavy Industries, and of course Osea has Grunder. We've known since the first trailer that General Resource appears to be supplying the FCU during this war as they did the Estovakians in AC6, so I expect them to show up with increasing frequency as AC8 progresses. It's a hard pill to swallow, but the FCU probably wouldn't be alive if not for General Resource saving their ass, and I bet the citizens of the FCU will be thankful too after Rex shows them how cool and awesome GR military tech is through their own social media.
So here’s the timeline as we know it:
2010: GR mercenaries created to protect the company’s vessels.
2012: GR releases their own Smartphone
2015: GR sells weapons to Estovakia
Before 2019: GR creates Data Swallow
2024: GR purchases the lead Usean communications company
2026: GR destroys terrorist forces in Usea (Ace Combat Advance)
2029: Wings of Theve
Note: Some of these were done by subsidiaries of General Resource, but that’s not really important as they all belong under the same company.
So according to the timeline for AC3, in 2029 General Resource owns the largest broadcasting agency in Usea as well as the world’s premier operating system, and has amassed an army of their own with a history of defending Usea in the past. Everything is shaping up for AC3 and Wings of Theve may bring us there.
So was the ending of AC7 and the destruction of satellite communications a brilliant move to set up GR as the manipulative internet providers of Usea? No. We all know the AC7 story was rushed and is a bit of a mess. Is it the perfect opportunity? Absolutely and I hope they take it.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR AC8 & ITS ENDING
I believe the mysterious man in the suit in the AC8 trailer is a GR salesperson, or more appropriately your social media manager. He's the one making sure that Wings of Theve and his crew are always trending on the company's own platforms, selling to the masses that freedom is within grasp thanks to the work of Rex (and his GR plane of course). He does appear to be looking at his phone in the most recent dev diary. We still don't know how GR takes over Usea before the events of AC3, but we may get our answer after this game. Imagine that it's not some aggressive sudden takeover, but a carefully coordinated soft coup with popular approval after the FCU government has clearly failed its citizens over and over again.
I'm sure none of you guys would want to be living under a bladerunner-style megacorp government, but imagine for a second if you lived in Usea. You've seen like, four continental wars already by the age of 35 and you probably knew many people who died, but suddenly there's a new force in town that wrecks the invader's asses and wants to guarantee our security as long as they get to continue making money. I don’t know… I think I'd want to take that deal.
Of course, I'd be convinced after seeing the footage of the Wings of Theve^(TM) (brought to you by General Resource LTD).
So, this is what's been going on in my head over the last few months regarding AC8 and how it can connect to the world of AC3. I would like to mention that some retcons are required, such as the actual existence of social media (already done), and that the whole world isn't ruled by megacorps, just Usea (This makes more sense and may already be the plan).
Just imagine: You see the whole tech tree like in AC7 with the F-22 at the end, but at some point without you realizing, it's been replaced by the GR F-22 II from AC3. GR's dominance continues to spread as your dependence on them increases, to the point where they are inescapable.
You can find a lot of the info I just presented on this wiki page and associated pages:
https://acecombat.fandom.com/wiki/General_Resource_Limited
https://acecombat.fandom.com/wiki/In-sa-net_Telegraph_and_Telephone_Communication
https://acecombat.fandom.com/wiki/General_Resource_Defense_Force
What do you guys think? Do you think I'm cooking with this or am I going to be dead wrong?