Sucker Punch Has To Give The Infamous Franchise A Modern-Day Makeover

Tell me this: How many games out there for current-gen consoles let you wreak absolute, unmitigated, no-holds-barred havoc in an open-world environment and look absolutely badass while doing so? Yeah, that’s pretty much the Infamous franchise wrapped up in a nutshell, which is something in desperate need of a resurgence by modern-day standards in my humble opinion.

The first Infamous came out all the way back in 2009, releasing passionately for the PlayStation 3. The title, which was received quite well by fans and critics across the board, was greenlit for a sequel soon after. Three years later in 2011, Infamous 2 made landfall, improving upon its predecessor in many aspects while continuing the story of protagonist Cole MacGrath.

The second iteration in the then-successful series quickly got treated to its very own DLC, titled Infamous: Festival of Blood, which didn’t take long either to become a PlayStation best-seller at the time. Fast-forward to 2014, Infamous Second Second came out exclusively for the PlayStation 4, featuring a protagonist switch yet launching to great reception all the same. 

A standalone expansion in the same vein as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales also came forward a few months after the release of Second Son, becoming a fan-favorite as well, but not any more than the first two Infamous titles still. That’s about it as far as this whole franchise is concerned. Ever since the launch of the latter, Sucker Punch has moved on to other horizons, and that’s more than just sad. 

What are your thoughts on the Infamous franchise?
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The First Two Infamous Games Have Potential For Greatness

Taking into account the hardware capacity of the PlayStation 5 — considering that’s the platform Sucker Punch would potentially release a new Infamous game on — I strongly believe a current-gen Infamous title would be in the right direction as far as the demand for more great exclusives like Returnal is concerned. And for that purpose, I’d like to shed light on the first two Infamous’ rather than the ones that came afterward. 

The inFamous games deserve more love from Sony
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That’s because those are the actual fan favorites — mine included — and not Second Son or its expansion First Light. Don’t get me wrong: These two are awesome all in their own right, but the originals do it quite like no other, featuring settings that are nothing but chef’s kiss along with a gripping storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.  

This Generation Could Use A Chaotic Open-World Game

Out of all your Spider-Mans, Returnals, and Elden Rings, none of the existing swath of current-gen titles do it quite like the Infamous games, which I’m sure if you’d try booting up even right now, you’d find them playing relevant like they never ran out of style in the first place. Sure, the graphics will seem a bit dated, but that won’t take away from the actual fun that they actually ensue. 

Anyone want a Infamous 1-2 remaster?
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I’ll be honest: Games like Crackdown are my favorite genre; it’s a shame those don’t get more love from the top-ranking developer studios across the globe. But let’s hope that the Infamous franchise gets picked up by the folks over at Sony again, so this particular genre can get the love it genuinely deserves. 

My Respect To Sucker Punch All The Same However

At this point, Sucker Punch Productions seems the type of studio that makes three to four games in a franchise and then moves on in the pursuit of new adventures. That’s what it did with Infamous it seems, setting off for the icon that Ghost of Tsushima has turned out to be.

This, right here, is an example of a fantastic video game developer studio, one that other companies should take due note of. So never in a million years can Sucker Punch can end up anywhere else than in my good books, for dispersing high-quality in every IP it takes up. 

However, a shift of resources and a change in strategy that would lead them back to the Infamous franchise in some manner — either a remake, remaster, or brand-new game in the series — would send waves across the globe, that’s for sure.  

Can We Expect A New Infamous Anytime Soon?

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but someone’s got to say it. No, a new Infamous game isn’t coming, at least for now. Franchise developer Sucker Punch issued a blog post back in 2021 where it explicitly confirmed that there are no current plans to work on the Infamous franchise. 

As our games continue to grow in scale and complexity, they require the full attention of our studio. 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. 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.” 

But hey, don’t give it all up just yet. You never know when Sucker Punch might decide to give the Infamous series another go, probably due to rising fan demand. I just hope that day comes sooner rather than later.