Great Ape Games

Great Ape Games is an independent British video game developer based in Brighton, England. The studio focuses on cinematic, narrative-driven experiences, combining first-person survival horror with environmental exploration and reactive artificial intelligence. It operates as a mid-sized AA developer, bringing together creative direction, narrative design, gameplay programming, and 3D art and animation.

The company traces its legal history to Shade Games Limited, incorporated in July 2012. It adopted the Great Ape Games name in January 2018, the year it publicly identifies with its studio founding and modern creative identity. It remains independent, with Annapurna Interactive serving as an external publishing partner.

Dinosaur survival horror

Its flagship project, The Lost Wild, is an atmospheric first-person survival horror game built in Unreal Engine 5. Players take the role of investigative reporter Saskia, exploring a mysterious island facility inhabited by dinosaurs. The design emphasizes stealth, observation and evasion, with encounters shaped by systemic animal behavior rather than conventional combat or scripted monster encounters.

The studio's approach combines cinematic storytelling with environments that reward exploration and attention to wildlife behavior. Its technical and creative capabilities support the production of characters, creatures and worlds through modeling, rigging, animation, real-time rendering and gameplay systems.

Initially supported by personal investment from the founders and an Epic MegaGrant, The Lost Wild attracted attention through pre-alpha demonstrations in late 2021 and early 2022. Great Ape Games entered a publishing agreement with Annapurna Interactive in July 2022. As of November 2026, the game is scheduled for release in 2027 on Windows PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store, and on PlayStation 5.