Sucker Punch Productions

Sucker Punch Productions is a developer.

Sucker Punch Productions Webpage, Facebook

An American game development studio based in Bellevue, Washington. With the exception of their debut title, all of the studio’s games have been released exclusively on PlayStation consoles. The studio rose to global fame with the Sly Cooper series, and its reputation was solidified by the success of the inFamous franchise. Since 2011, the company has been owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment.

The history of Sucker Punch

The history of Sucker Punch Productions began in 1997, when a group of former Microsoft employees decided to start their own development studio. Two interesting facts stand out about the company’s founding. Firstly, only one of the founders had prior experience in video game development. Secondly, the studio’s name was chosen by Chris Zimmerman’s wife from a long list of suggestions.

The team’s debut came quickly - in 1999, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, a classic platformer featuring an advanced physics engine and published by Ubisoft, was released for the Nintendo 64. The game was well received, helping the developers establish themselves in the minds of players. Soon after, the studio partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment (now Sony Interactive Entertainment), setting the direction it continues to follow today.

Sly Cooper, or Raccoons and Thieves

The first game Sucker Punch Productions developed for the PlayStation 2 was 2002’s Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. This action-adventure game put players in the shoes of the titular raccoon, a member of the Cooper clan of thieves. Unlike the 3D platformers being developed at the time by Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games, the game drew inspiration from the Metal Gear Solid series, focusing on exploration, stealth, and the use of a wide range of gadgets. The game was a success, and Sly 2: Band of Thieves launched two years later. The raccoon’s adventures became a trilogy in 2005 with the release of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. The final entry in the series marked Sucker Punch Productions’ farewell to the PlayStation 2 platform.

inFamous – the adventures of an Infamous superhero

Developing their first PlayStation 3 game took the team four years. The developers had to create new technology to enable the design of a fully open world. In 2009, they released inFamous, a sandbox action game featuring a protagonist with the power to control electricity. Strong reviews and solid sales turned Cole MacGrath’s adventures into a franchise that the studio would continue developing for years.

inFamous 2 was released in 2011, and a few months later, it received the Festival of Blood expansion. In August of the same year, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment, joining a dozen or so first-party studios under the Japanese giant.

Ultimately, inFamous became a trilogy, with its finale released on the PlayStation 4. inFamous: Second Son introduced a new protagonist and impressed players with its stunning graphics. Shortly after its 2014 release, the game received a large standalone DLC, inFamous: First Light.

Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei: the ghosts of feudal Japan

Since the release of inFamous: First Light, news of Sucker Punch’s next projects went silent until it was broken at the Paris Games Week 2017 conference. At that event, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed a trailer for the team’s new project, Ghost of Tsushima. This open-world action game is set on the Japanese island of Tsushima, which was invaded by the Mongols in the 13th century. The game was originally scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4 in 2018. Ultimately players had to be much more patient. It wasn’t until December 2019 that another teaser trailer dropped, kicking off a major marketing campaign. In the months that followed, the developers shared not only project details but also trailers and gameplay footage. Although the game was announced in March 2020 for a June 25 release, it was later delayed to July 17, as revealed in April. Three days before Ghost of Tsushima launched, reviews started appearing, most of them highly positive. The scores from industry critics ranked Ghost of Tsushima as the fifteenth highest-rated PlayStation 4 exclusive on Metacritic. The game also set records with its player ratings. It also received the Players' Choice Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2020.

The game’s artistic triumph translated into a major commercial success. Just three days after release, the game sold 2.4 million copies, becoming the fastest-selling entry in a new Sony franchise. Capitalizing on the game’s success, the developers released a free add-on called Legends, which added an online co-op mode.

In March 2021, it was announced that Ghost of Tsushima would be adapted into a movie. Chad Stahelski, known for directing the popular John Wick series, was set to helm the film. In August, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut launched on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, an expanded edition of the game featuring an additional mini-campaign, Iki Island. It also launched on PC in May 2024.

In September 2024, it was announced that Ghost of Tsushima had surpassed 13 million players worldwide. That same month, the series’ second installment, Ghost of Yotei, was announced. The new title introduced not just a new setting around Mount Yotei, but also a new time period - over 300 years after Jin Sakai’s era - and a new protagonist, Atsu.