Sony may be allowing outside developers to pitch games based on its dormant PlayStation franchises, which could explain the recent surge of rumours surrounding Sly Cooper, Ape Escape and Killzone.
The claim comes from the same source that previously leaked details about a 2D God of War project, which turned out to be Sons of Sparta. According to their post, SIE 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 also stressed that this is different from Sony’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 Sony-owned franchises.
Some of these projects could also receive support from the original development teams. According to the source, certain games may be supported or supervised by the studios that worked on the original titles. The rumoured Killzone project and Sons of Sparta were cited as examples.
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.
