The rumored Ape Escape revival is allegedly being developed by Penny’s Big Breakaway developer, Evening Star.
According to Reddit user IcyPenguin28, Penny’s Big Breakaway and Sonic Mania developer Evening Star is working on a new Ape Escape game. The user claims to have two credible sources with ties to the developer. One source accidentally mentioned Ape Escape as a project currently in development, while another suggested the studio’s lack of junior hiring was “for a good reason.”
IcyPenguin28 acknowledged that the information could potentially be a red herring, a miscommunication, or even a pitch to PlayStation that ultimately may not have been approved. The possibility of a pitch is in line with a recent report regarding PlayStation accepting external proposals for its legacy IPs.
ResetEra member thisiserfan, a source that previously leaked details about a 2D God of War project that turned out to be Sons of Sparta, recently claimed that Sony Interactive Entertainment has started accepting multiple pitches for its first-party IP. The franchises they are aware of include Sly Cooper, Ape Escape, and Killzone. PlayStation Studios would fund and publish these games, while external studios would handle development.
The source clarified that this is different from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s previous licensing deals with companies such as Bandai Namco, which primarily involved ports. In this case, external developers would be creating entirely new games based on PlayStation franchises.
The claim also lines up with other reports that have surfaced recently. Ape Escape has been the subject of separate claims from industry insider NateTheHate, who previously said Sony was looking to revive dormant franchises. When asked about reports of an Ape Escape revival, he said, “As I said a while ago, Sony is looking to bring back some dormant franchises.” He later indicated that Team Asobi is not developing the Ape Escape project.
