While there has never been any official statement that theApe Escapeseries is dead and buried, its future is completely blank at the moment. There hasn’t been a new game since 2011’sPlayStation Move Ape Escapespin-off andApe Escape’s 20th anniversarycame and went with not even a remake or re-release. A Twitter account was made specifically for the anniversary, but it has been abandoned since June 2020.
In lieu of any official project fromSony, one die-hardApe Escapefan called Yahya Danboos on YouTube decided to remake a portion of the original PlayStation game in Unreal Engine 4. Specifically, they remade the first game’s opening level, which is a small and simple area that only tasks the player with capturing three apes.
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As highlighted by Push Square, it’s an incredibly faithful recreation, from the UI and the design of player character Spike to the apes themselves. While it’s not overly polished, it’s an impressive feat for only one person and is probably the closest thing fans will get to a PlayStation 5 remake. Yahya Danboos has also uploaded the demo to itch.io so anyone can download it and try it out for themselves, but they stress that they have no intention of remaking any more of the game beyond this opening level.
In a perfect world, the positive reception from fans will reach Sony and encourage it to greenlight a newApe Escapeproject, whether it be a PS5 remake or an entirely new game. Considering there hasn’t been a new mainline entry since 2006’sApe Escape 3, a remake in the same vein as theCrash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogywould probably make the most sense since it could potentially reach a new audience as well as old fans.
However, the original studio behind theApe Escapeseries, Japan Studio, technically doesn’t exist anymore. It wasn’t shut down but, in April, Sony reorganized the studio and merged it with Team Asobi, which was originally a part of Japan Studio but has now become its own independent studio. With Team Asobi dedicated entirely to continuing theAstro Botgames thanks to the success ofAstro’s Playroom(a free game bundled with every PS5), it seems extremely unlikely that anyApe Escapeproject will be considered.
Japan Studio was also responsible for the likes ofKnackand theGravity Rushgames, all of which are just as unlikely to see new entries any time soon. Many of Japan Studio’s most prolific employees left around the time of the restructuring too, such asSilent HillandGravity Rushcreator Keiichiro Toyama, who now runs his own studio.
