VGC and Kotaku report that an Ape Escape revival may be in development at Evening Star, but Sony has not announced a new game or confirmed PS5 plans.
Image: screenrant.com
A reported revival, an unannounced developer, and a very loud silence
The strongest new development in the Ape Escape revival chatter is that VGC says its own sources match what veteran journalist Jeff Gerstmann said on The Jeff Gerstmann Show: a new Ape Escape game is reportedly in development at Evening Star, the studio formed by developers associated with Sonic Mania and the maker of Penny's Big Breakaway.
That is still a report, not an announcement. Sony Interactive Entertainment has not revealed a new Ape Escape game, has not named Evening Star as a partner, and has not confirmed platforms, timing, price, or even whether the project will reach release. VGC says it contacted Sony for comment. The source material provided does not include a Sony response.
The tension is clear. Ape Escape is one of PlayStation's most beloved dormant platformer names, and Evening Star is a tempting match on paper for players who care about movement, expressive animation, and arcade-like 3D play. But the story currently lives in the space between multiple reported signals and zero official confirmation. That makes this an Ape Escape PS5 rumor only in the broad community-search sense, not a confirmed PS5 game.
What VGC and Kotaku are actually reporting
VGC reports that the classic PlayStation franchise is “set to return” in a revival developed by Evening Star, citing both Gerstmann's public comments and VGC's own sources. On his podcast, Gerstmann said he had heard an Ape Escape game was being made, that he did not think it was close to release, and that his understanding was that an external studio was working on it rather than Team Asobi. He then identified Evening Star, referencing Penny's Big Breakaway.
Gerstmann also put a caution flag on the timing and certainty of what he had heard. According to VGC's transcript, he said that when he first heard about it, the project sounded “just barely greenlit” and “kind of just getting underway.” He added that it was “not necessarily the most corroborated, multiple-source thing” from his side, while noting he had been asking people about the Ape Escape game at DICE in February.
Kotaku frames the same story as a rumor and ties together Gerstmann's comments with VGC's report. Kotaku says word has come from both Gerstmann and VGC that the series is due to be brought back, and it characterizes Gerstmann's comments as relatively non-committal while noting that VGC says it has heard the same from its own sources.
That distinction matters. VGC is presenting its own sourcing in support of the claim. Kotaku is reporting on the rumor's spread and the alignment between Gerstmann and VGC. Neither outlet is quoting Sony or Evening Star announcing the game.
Evening Star is a plausible fit, but plausibility is not confirmation
The Evening Star Ape Escape connection is easy to understand if you look at the studio's recent work through a platforming lens. Evening Star developed Penny's Big Breakaway, a 3D platformer built around a yo-yo, momentum, playful enemies, and unusual control feel. VGC describes the studio as the team behind the much-loved Sonic Mania, later forming Evening Star and developing Penny's Big Breakaway.
For an Ape Escape revival, that resume sounds meaningful because the series has always depended on the feel of gadgets, pursuit, spacing, and quick improvisation. Ape Escape is not a mascot platformer where the character simply jumps through stages. Its identity comes from chasing monkeys, reading their behavior, swapping tools, and using control schemes that make the act of catching feel tactile.
Still, the fit is an interpretation, not evidence by itself. Push Square and Sonic City both discuss earlier social-media and community speculation connecting Evening Star to Ape Escape, including a Reddit user's claim and a public Evening Star job listing seeking a senior 3D character artist for anime-stylized characters. Sonic City notes that the listing had been public since at least July 2025, so it should not be treated as a fresh clue pointing directly at Ape Escape. Those details can explain why fans found the rumor believable, but VGC's source reporting and Gerstmann's comments are the stronger pieces currently on the table.
Sony's reported licensing push changes the shape of the rumor
The broader business context makes this report more interesting than a single nostalgia tease. VGC says it has heard from multiple sources that Ape Escape is not the only PlayStation franchise Sony is looking to revive through licensing to smaller third-party studios. VGC points to Sony licensing Everybody's Golf to Bandai Namco for 2025's Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots as a prior example of this approach.
VGC also says Sony is reportedly planning a Killzone revival, with a remaster or remake currently in the early stages of development. Kotaku similarly frames Ape Escape alongside a wave of rumors about dormant PlayStation properties, including Killzone and Uncharted, while noting that VGC described Sony as investigating other owned licenses that could return.
If accurate, the important shift is not simply that one old series may be coming back. It is that Sony may be willing to let smaller external teams handle some legacy properties instead of relying only on its internal studios. That would explain why the obvious fan guess, Team Asobi, is not the reported answer here. Gerstmann specifically said his understanding was that an external team was involved, and PlayStation LifeStyle separately reported that insider NateTheHate had claimed the Ape Escape return would not be handled by Team Asobi.
None of that confirms a new Ape Escape game. It does, however, make the Evening Star report fit a larger pattern VGC says Sony is exploring.
The nostalgia is real, but the design questions are sharper than the brand name
Ape Escape first appeared on the original PlayStation in 1999. Kotaku describes it as a third-person 3D platform game starring Spike, a human boy tasked with recapturing escaped apes using gadgets and vehicles. Kotaku also notes that the original game was a pioneer for Sony hardware because it required the DualShock controller.
That control legacy is central to why a new Ape Escape game would carry such specific expectations. Kotaku points out that later entries and spin-offs often intersected with Sony peripherals, including EyeToy support for Monkey Mania, PSP Wi-Fi use in Ape Escape Academy, and PlayStation Move for the most recent entry it cites. PlayStation LifeStyle similarly identifies PlayStation Move Ape Escape as the latest release, although the two outlets differ on the date: Kotaku says 2011, while PlayStation LifeStyle says 2010. The disagreement does not change the larger point that the series has been absent from new releases for well over a decade.
The craft challenge for any new Ape Escape game is not simply to put pipo monkeys back on screen. A modern version would need to decide how much of the old control philosophy survives. Kotaku speculates that the PS5's DualSense controller could be used more inventively if the project proves real, especially given how Astro Bot showcased the controller. That is an expectation and a design hope, not a confirmed feature. No source in the provided material says a new Ape Escape will use DualSense haptics, adaptive triggers, motion input, or any specific control scheme.
For platformer fans, that is the part worth watching. Evening Star's Penny's Big Breakaway showed an appetite for unusual movement and playful complexity. Ape Escape asks for a different kind of precision: reading targets, managing tools, and turning chase scenes into little puzzles. If the report is accurate, the match could be creatively promising, but the actual mechanics remain completely unannounced.
No release window, no platform list, and no reason to expect an imminent reveal
Readers searching for a new Ape Escape game should treat the practical details as unknown. The source material does not confirm a release date, launch window, platforms, price, editions, physical release, performance targets, or upgrade path. Despite the search interest around an Ape Escape PS5 rumor, none of the provided reports confirms PS5 as a platform.
The only timing signal comes from Gerstmann, as quoted by VGC and PlayStation Universe. He said he did not think the game was close to being out, and that when he first heard about it the project sounded barely greenlit. Push Square also says the game may be very early in development. If those reports are accurate, players should not build expectations around a near-term launch.
There is one practical option for anyone wanting to revisit the series now. PlayStation LifeStyle reports that PS5 and PS4 players can access Ape Escape classics through the PS Plus Premium catalog, and that the emulated classics are also available for standalone purchase through the PlayStation Store.
For now, the clean read is this: the Ape Escape revival rumor has stronger sourcing than the usual wishlist chatter because VGC says its own sources align with Gerstmann's account, and Kotaku has reported that alignment. But until Sony or Evening Star says something publicly, PlayStation Ape Escape fans are looking at a reported early project, not a confirmed comeback.