Sony is slowly transitioning away from its reliance on the IPs that once defined the PlayStation brand.

According to Nate The Hate, an insider, Sony may be reviving one of its long-dormant in-house IPs. On the ResetEra forum, a user noted that two different sources had mentioned Ape Escape and asked Nate if he knew anything about it. The insider’s response was initially cryptic. He wrote that, as he had mentioned some time ago, Sony wants to revive a few dormant series and then dropped a few more hints. When asked if Team Asobi is involved in the project, Nate replied that the studio known for Astro Bot is not developing it. Regarding Bandai Namco’s involvement, Nate said that, to the best of his knowledge, the company is not participating. However, he added that he would need to check just to be sure since he hasn’t been following the project for a while.

This detail is perhaps the most interesting since referring to it as an actual project suggests that something concrete is in development, not just an idea under consideration. However, nothing is certain yet, and Sony hasn’t said a word about it. The significance of Ape Escape extends far beyond its cult following. Developed by Sony Japan Studio and released for the PS1 in 1999, the game was the first PlayStation title that required the use of the DualShock controller. The right analog stick was used to swing tools, such as the Time Net, to catch the escaped monkeys wearing Peak Point helmets. In many ways, this served as the debut of the dual-analog control system used in every PlayStation controller since then. The drum-and-bass soundtrack, composed by Soichi Terada, remains a fan favorite to this day.

The series continued with Ape Escape 2 and Ape Escape 3 on the PlayStation 2 (PS2), as well as a remake of the original game for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Numerous spin-offs were also released, some exclusively in Japan. The Pipo monkeys even appeared in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in the memorable “Snake vs. Monkey” minigame, which was also included in the recently released Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake. The last new installment, PlayStation Move Ape Escape, was released in 2010 for the PS3. This means the franchise has been dormant for 16 years, spanning two console generations.

The original development team no longer exists. In April 2021, Sony reorganized Japan Studio and merged the remaining team members into Team Asobi. This makes Asobi the most obvious candidate to revive the series, especially since the Pipo monkeys and Spike have already appeared in cameo roles in the Astro games. With Asobi out of the picture and Bandai Namco seemingly not involved in the project, it remains to be seen who will develop the game. However, if Nate is right, PlayStation’s most iconic monkeys will soon be unleashed once again.

Source: WCCFTech, ResetEra, https://www.resetera.com/threads/playstation-studios-ot51-insert-t%C5%8Dkon.1575361/page-360#post-161264896, https://www.resetera.com/threads/playstation-studios-ot51-insert-t%C5%8Dkon.1575361/page-361#post-161266324