Big Ape Productions

Big Ape Productions was a British development studio based in London, which, during the second half of the 1990s and at the start of the new millennium, contributed to the development of a number of well-known action and licensed games for consoles and computers.

The studio’s best-known game is The Simpsons Wrestling, an unconventional fighting game for the PlayStation in which favourite characters from The Simpsons series face off against one another in humorous arenas inspired by the town of Springfield. The game became one of the best-known licensed titles on the original PlayStation.

The studio also contributed to the development of the fantasy action game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, which offered co-operative play through vast dungeons, and the game Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, inspired by the film of the same name. Other projects include Herc’s Adventures and MTV Celebrity Deathmatch, based on the popular MTV television programme.

Big Ape Productions was best known for developing games based on well-known licences and successfully adapting film and television brands into video games. Their titles were released on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC platforms.

Although the studio is no longer in operation, games such as The Simpsons Wrestling, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and MTV Celebrity Deathmatch remain well-known titles from their era and serve as a reminder of Big Ape Productions’ significance during the PlayStation era.