Sony could be preparing to raid its own vault. According to a well-known PlayStation leaker, the company is now accepting pitches to revive several long-dormant franchises, with Ape Escape, Killzone and Sly Cooper named as candidates. None of this is confirmed, and Sony has said nothing publicly, but the reported plan suggests a broader strategy than one-off nostalgia projects.
The most interesting detail is how these games would get made. Rather than handing the series back to their original studios, Sony is reportedly looking to license the properties to outside developers and publish the results itself. The leaker also claims the first wave of revivals would line up with the launch of the PlayStation 6, which would turn a batch of PS2- and PS3-era mascots into part of a next-generation sales pitch.
That outsourcing approach makes practical sense once you look at where the original creators ended up. Sucker Punch, which built Sly Cooper’s stealthy raccoon heists, has spent the last several years on Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei. Guerrilla Games left Killzone behind for the Horizon series, which has become one of PlayStation’s biggest names. Japan Studio, home of Ape Escape, no longer exists in its old form after being folded into Team Asobi in 2021.
The gaps involved are long. Killzone has been silent since Shadow Fall launched alongside the PS4 in 2013. Sly Cooper’s last full entry, Thieves in Time, also arrived in 2013. Ape Escape fared worse, with its last mainline game released in 2005 and only a PlayStation Move spin-off following in 2010. Jak and Daxter, Infamous and PaRappa the Rapper have also gone more than a decade without new releases.
If the report is accurate, it would mark a noticeable shift for a company that has built its recent reputation on big-budget cinematic blockbusters. Team Asobi’s Astro Bot already showed there is real affection for PlayStation’s older characters, and a licensing model could let Sony test that demand without pulling its top studios off their flagship projects. The risk is obvious, though. Handing beloved franchises to unfamiliar developers can go badly, and fans of these series are protective.
In the meantime, Sony’s near-term lineup is already set, with God of War Laufey and Until Dawn 2 both due in February 2027. The bigger unanswered question is whether a PS6 launch built partly on revived mascots would feel like a celebration of PlayStation’s history or a sign that its newer ideas are running thin.
