Sony Reportedly Taps Sonic Mania Veterans for Ape Escape Revival

Sony is reportedly bringing back Ape Escape, its monkey-chasing PlayStation series, with development handled by an outside studio.

The first report points to Evening Star, the independent team behind Penny's Big Breakaway, as the developer. The claim comes from journalist Jeff Gerstmann, who said on his podcast that a new Ape Escape is in the works there, according to Eurogamer.

Video Games Chronicle has corroborated Gerstmann's account, Eurogamer reported on 7 October 2026. Other outlets have added weight. Push Square said on 6 October 2026 that more sources supported a revival by former Sonic Mania developers, while Vice and IGN also reported on 7 October 2026 that Evening Star is attached.

Evening Star was founded by developers who worked on Sonic Mania. That was the 2017 revival of Sega's classic Sonic platform games, built in a retro style that won over long-time fans.

Ape Escape has been quiet for a long time. The last mainline entry was Ape Escape 3 in 2005. PlayStation 5 owners got a reminder more recently, when Astro Bot included a playable Ape Escape tribute.

Do not expect it soon. Gerstmann said the new game is not close to release.

The project is reportedly the start of something wider. Sony is said to want to work with other small external developers on additional legacy PlayStation IP, the industry term for older characters and worlds a publisher still owns.

There is recent precedent. Sony used Bandai Namco to handle Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots, released in 2025, as an example of outsourcing a legacy series rather than building it internally.

What makes this stand out is the pairing. Fans link the Sonic Mania team with faithful revivals, and Sony has a catalogue of series that have sat unused for a console generation or more. For now, though, this remains a reported plan, not an announced release date.