Sources: Ape Escape revival in the works from Sonic Mania team
The studio behind Sonic Mania and Penny’s Big Breakaway will reportedly helm PlayStation’s Ape Escape revival
Classic PlayStation franchise Ape Escape is set to return in a revival developed by the team behind Sonic Mania.
That’s according to veteran journalist Jeff Gerstmann, which matches what VGC has heard from our own sources. The game is reportedly in development at Evening Star, the team behind the much-loved Sonic Mania, which would later form Evening Star and develop Penny’s Big Breakaway.
Gerstmann’s claim follows social media reports linking Evening Star with the PlayStation franchise.
Speaking on his podcast, The Jeff Gerstmann show, Gerstmann said, “So yeah, some other folks have kind of said that they also heard that Ape Escape is being made.
“I don’t think this game is close to being out or anything like that, but I guess it’s been almost a year since we started talking about Ape Escape.
“Who is making it? That’s a good question. My understanding is that it’s an external studio. You know, because people were immediately like, ‘Oh, Team Asobi (Astro Bot) is making it.’ My understanding is that an external team has been working on that.
“What do they make… Penny’s Big Breakaway. Evening Star. I heard that they were working on it.”
Sony is looking to license dormant franchises
VGC has heard from multiple sources that Ape Escape isn’t the only PlayStation franchise Sony is looking to revive via licensing to smaller third-party studios. Sony previously experimented with this when it licensed the Everybody’s Golf franchise to Bandai Namco for 2025’s Everybody’s Golf: Hot Shots.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is also reportedly planning to revive the Killzone series, with a new remaster or remake currently in the early stages of development.
Gerstmann goes on to say it’s been some time since he’d heard Evening Star was working on a revival of the franchise.
“At the time that I initially heard it, it sounded like it was a game that had been like just barely greenlit and like wasn’t really, you know, like that it was kind of just getting underway.
“You know, not necessarily the most corroborated, multiple-source thing, but that is what I heard about an Ape Escape Game. And I heard that, well, gosh… I mean, I was asking people questions at DICE this year about this Ape Escape game. So that was February. So there ya go.”
VGC has contacted Sony for comment on this story, and will update it should we recieve one.
This news comes on the heels of reports of an Uncharted revival, though that game will reportedly be handled in-house at Naughty Dog rather than via a third party.
