Ape Escape set for a comeback as PlayStation looks to revive dormant franchises

The PlayStation classic Ape Escape is reportedly making a comeback according to recent reports.

The 1999 platformer has developed somewhat of a cult following and the monkeys has made cameo appearances in several recent titles including Astro Bot and Metal Gear Solid: Delta.

Now, as reported by Jeff Gerstmann on his podcast The Jeff Gerstmann Show and corroborated by VGC, a comeback is in the works.

"Some other folks have kind of said that they also heard that Ape Escape is being made," he began.

"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."

He went on to note that Evening Star, the studio behind Penny's Big Breakaway founded by many of the team behind Sonic Mania, is set to develop the title.

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In addition to this news, VGC went on to explain that multiple sources have claimed that Ape Escape is part of a concerted push from Sony to revive dormant franchises by licensing them to "smaller third-party studios."

We've already seen such a remake with Bandai Namco taking care of 2025's Everybody's Golf: Hot-Shots, while a Killzone revival is also in the works.

Sony is far from the only company turning to reboots at the moment, with Onimusha reportedly the first of several Capcom reboots to release.

SEGA, meanwhile, is working on a swathe of reboots including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage and more.

PlayStation certainly has a deep backlog of series to work with, and with Sucker Punch Productions now done and dusted with the recent Ghost of Yōtei DLC, perhaps that Sly Cooper reboot isn't so far-fetched after all.

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Authors

Alex Raisbeck is a Gaming Writer at Radio Times, covering everything from AAA giants to indie gems. Alex has written for VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, PCGamesN and more.