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Ape Escape Revival Reportedly in Development at Evening Star
After years of cameos and nostalgic callbacks, Ape Escape may finally be getting another game of its own.
Veteran games journalist Jeff Gerstmann says he has heard that Sony’s dormant platforming series is being revived by Evening Star, the studio behind Penny’s Big Breakaway and a team formed by developers who previously worked on Sonic Mania. The claim has since gained considerably more weight, with VGC reporting that its own sources have heard the same information.
It would give Ape Escape considerably more than the occasional reminder we have seen across modern PlayStation games. The series has recently resurfaced through appearances in titles such as Astro Bot, while its crossover content also returned in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
Evening Star Reportedly Takes on Ape Escape
Gerstmann said on The Jeff Gerstmann Show that his understanding is that the project is being handled by an external developer rather than Team Asobi, before naming Evening Star as the studio he had heard was involved.
However, anyone hoping for an imminent reveal may want to temper expectations. Gerstmann said the project did not sound close to release and was only recently getting underway when he first heard about it. He had already been asking sources about the game during DICE in February, suggesting that talk of the revival has been circulating for several months.
What form the new Ape Escape takes remains unknown. There is currently no indication whether Sony is pursuing a sequel, reboot, remake or something else entirely, and no platforms or release window have been reported.
Evening Star nevertheless looks like an interesting choice. Penny’s Big Breakaway gave the studio direct experience with colourful 3D platforming, while several members of the team previously worked on Sonic Mania.
Sony May Be Looking at More Dormant PlayStation Games
The reported Ape Escape revival may also be part of something broader. Sony has been exploring opportunities to license dormant PlayStation properties to smaller third-party studios instead of relying entirely on its internal development teams. This could also extend to Killzone, which is supposed to be among the franchises being considered, with a remaster or remake said to be in early development.
That approach would follow Sony licensing Everybody’s Golf to Bandai Namco for 2025’s Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots. For now, though, a new Ape Escape remains unannounced. Sony and Evening Star have yet to publicly confirm the project, so the revival should still be treated as a report rather than a certainty.
Still, after years of seeing those monkeys turn up everywhere except their own new game, the prospect of a proper return suddenly looks considerably more plausible.
