Infamous

Infamous is Sucker Punch Productions’ open-world superhero franchise, launching May 26, 2009, exclusively on PlayStation 3. The series places the player in the role of a Conduit, a human with latent superpowers activated by specific triggers, navigating a morality system in which choices determine whether the character becomes a hero or a villain and unlock correspondingly different abilities and story outcomes. Four games released across PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 between 2009 and 2014 before Sucker Punch moved to the Ghost of Tsushima franchise. The series has been dormant for over a decade, though Infamous director Nate Fox stated in July 2025 that he would love to return to the franchise following the completion of Ghost of Yotei.

Infamous (2009)

Infamous released May 26, 2009, for PlayStation 3, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game follows Cole MacGrath, a bike messenger in the fictional Empire City, who is at the center of a massive explosion triggered by a device called the Ray Sphere that kills thousands of people and grants Cole control over electricity. Wanted by the authorities and blamed by the public for the explosion’s casualties, Cole must use his powers to investigate the truth while choosing whether to protect the city or exploit his abilities for personal gain. The karma system tracked choices across the game and shifted Cole’s appearance toward angelic or demonic aesthetics alongside unlocking morality-appropriate powers. Infamous demonstrated that Sucker Punch could build a superhero game with genuine tonal weight rather than pure escapism.

Infamous 2 and Festival of Blood

Infamous 2 released June 7, 2011, for PlayStation 3, moving Cole MacGrath from Empire City to the fictional New Marais, a New Orleans-influenced city in the American South, as he sought to develop stronger powers in preparation for a creature called the Beast prophesied to destroy everything. The sequel expanded the power set, refined the traversal, and concluded Cole’s story across its two morality endings in ways that set different expectations for what might come in a third mainline entry. Infamous 2: Festival of Blood released as a standalone downloadable title in October 2011, a non-canonical spinoff in which Cole was reimagined as a vampire in a gothic horror version of New Marais narrated by Zeke as a tall tale to impress a woman at a bar.

Second Son and First Light

Infamous: Second Son released March 21, 2014, as a PlayStation 4 launch window title, set in a present-day Seattle under military surveillance by the Department of Unified Protection, a government organization that hunts Conduits, whom the authorities call bioterrorists. Delsin Rowe, a graffiti artist of Akomish heritage played by Troy Baker, absorbs abilities from other Conduits he touches, acquiring smoke, neon, video, and concrete powers across the game. The shift to PlayStation 4 hardware allowed Sucker Punch to render a detailed recreation of Seattle with particle effects that made each power’s visual expression distinctive and impressive. Second Son is the franchise’s best-selling entry. Infamous: First Light, released August 26, 2014, was a standalone prequel following Abigail Walker, known as Fetch, a Conduit with neon powers who appeared in Second Son, through the events before the main game’s story.

The Future of Infamous

Sucker Punch Productions published a 2022 blog post stating no plans to revisit Infamous or their other dormant franchise Sly Cooper. The studio subsequently developed and released Ghost of Yotei, a standalone sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, which launched October 2, 2025. Ghost of Tsushima contained Easter egg references to both Infamous and Sly Cooper. Astro Bot in 2024 also included an Infamous Easter egg. In July 2025, Infamous series director Nate Fox told Game Informer that he would love to work on more Infamous and would love to see a trilogy rerelease, describing Sucker Punch as a one-game-at-a-time studio currently focused on finishing Ghost of Yotei. With Ghost of Yotei now released, the possibility of Infamous content returning has increased, though no announcement has been made as of mid-2026.