Rumor: Sucker Punch Working on a New PS4 IP
By Jasmine Henry 16 January 2017
Sly Cooper and inFamous developer Sucker Punch Productions is reportedly working on a brand new PS4 IP, according to a notorious games industry tipster.
When Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida revealed that the company is working on a large number of unannounced games, many fans were quick to voice how much they’d love a new game from inFamous and Sly Cooper developer Sucker Punch Productions. In 2014, Sucker Punch released inFamous: First Light, standalone DLC to its first PS4 release, inFamous: Second Son, but the developer hasn’t announced a new project since.
According to industry insider shinobi602, who most recently revealed that Crackdown 3 development has been ‘rough,’ the developer is currently hard at work. Writing on NeoGAF, the famous tipster said that “Sucker Punch is on a new IP,” but unfortunately shinobi didn’t reveal any more details than that.
Back in 2015, though, Sucker Punch went on a hiring spree and some information about its new PS4 game was uncovered in the process. As the company looked to employ a new mission designer, gameplay engineer, senior character tech artist and more, Sucker Punch said that it wanted to push its new characters “beyond the high bar” that it set with First Light and Second Son.
Moreover, it wants to create “grab hold and won’t-let go experiences” that are “so engrossing that hours go by before you’re willing to put down your controller.” Sucker Punch also wanted to hire someone who could “translate game mechanics into powerful emotional responses.” The game is also likely to be a third-person game with melee combat, according to the postings.
While many fans of the studio will no doubt be disappointed that the studio isn’t working on a new inFamous game or the upcoming PS4 Spider-Man game, the unannounced title does sound promising and Sony has said that it’s ‘super excited’ about the developer’s next project. Although both Second Son and First Light were received well, there were definitely rooms for improvement, such as the game’s morality system, and many will agree that if Sucker Punch’s next game can learn from its missteps then it could be a fantastic experience.
Having been in the works for at least a year and a half (two years and a half if work immediately began following First Light‘s launch), Sucker Punch Productions probably has plenty to show off regarding its new game and Sony’s E3 2017 press conference seems like a safe bet. Hopefully the new Sucker Punch title is just one of those unannounced PS4 games that Sony chooses to unveil at the annual industry event in June.
