Sucker Punch Productions has made a name for itself on the quality and scope of its video games, with open-world titles Sly Cooper, Infamous and Ghost of Tsushima showing off the studio’s prowess. But despite its back catalogue being filled with beloved franchises, it appears the company is choosing to firmly focus on its future. In a recent blog post, the Sucker Punch team confirmed that no Infamous or Sly Cooper projects are currently in the works, with zero plans for these adventures to return.
‘With our focus on our current project, we have no plans to revisit Infamous or Sly Cooper right now, and no other studio is currently working on projects related to those franchises either,’ Sucker Punch said. ‘These characters are very special and near and dear to our hearts, so while we’d never say never to re-opening those doors down the road, for now, there are no Infamous or Sly Cooper games in development.’
The reality is that no studio can work on every project fans demand – but learning the Infamous and Sly Cooper franchises are dormant is frankly a disappointment, particularly after months of rumours to the contrary.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a near-perfect game, and was a real revelation in the PlayStation 2 era. Its cel-shaded character artwork holds up extremely well in modern times, and the entire story has a sharp sense of humour and noir-heist stylings that make it a real classic. When it was ported to PlayStation 3 alongside its sequels, the action continued to shine in remastered form.
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The series received a major sequel for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in 2013, but being launched on the tail end of the PS3 generation meant Thieves in Time flew under the radar. Despite this, it remains an excellent and imaginative adventure worthy of a follow-up.
The mechanics in this franchise are timeless. They’re extremely smooth and good-looking – and deserve more time in the sun. Given the PS3 era is still largely non-compatible with modern consoles, there’s a high chance this series will simply be forgotten as the world of gaming moves on.
But between Sly Cooper‘s loveable cast of characters, and its excellently slick gameplay mechanics, it would be a real shame to see the franchise disappear.
The Infamous franchise is in a similar boat.
This series, arguably, was ahead of its time. The first game launched in 2009 ahead of a massive boom for the superhero genre. While 2008’s Iron Man had already kickstarted the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and brought super-powered heroes into the mainstream fold again, Infamous dived deeper with grittier characters, and deeper lore.
The concept of an electric hero roaming an open world was filled with potential – and many of the mechanics that made Sly Cooper such a hit returned in this series. You could glide on powerlines to traverse broken roads, or use parkour-style climbing to leap up great buildings. There was also a tangible sense of danger as the game headed towards its epic final confrontation.
Infamous 2 expanded on the story of Cole MacGrath and the unlikely heroes of New Marias, carving out a unique tale of superheroes caught in uncanny and terrifying circumstances. As with many games of its era, this sequel also ended on a cliffhanger, with the seeming demise of MacGrath questioned in a final, tantalising cutscene.
This mystery was briefly explored in successor Infamous: Second Son, which followed power absorber Delsin Rowe, but the curiosity of the Infamous 2 ending remains, with many fans still questioning whether MacGrath is really dead – and what exactly happened in the New Marais streets.
A long-awaited sequel to Infamous not only has the potential to answer these questions, it could also be a revelation in an era now saturated by superhero media. With the MCU continuing to dominate the box office, there’s a strong desire for alternative takes on the genre – with the success of The Boys and Invincible being just two examples of this desire.
In the era of Marvel domination, a new Infamous game could be a grim and gritty antidote to a long-running franchise now struggling with original stories and keeping its audience satisfied.
At this stage, it appears Sucker Punch is clamping down on any rumour to do with Sly Cooper or Infamous, with no plans for either franchise to return soon – and that’s a real shame. While the door isn’t quite closed for the future, both worlds will remain dormant until Sucker Punch chooses to indulge keen fans. With questions still lingering for both Sly Cooper and Infamous, there’s major potential in future sequels but for now, fans will have to stay patient and hope for better.
