Fans haven't seen head or tail of Sly Cooper since Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the fan-fueled resurgence in 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Vita. Matt Kraemer, the lead designer of Thieves in Time, seems very keen on changing that.
The Sly Cooper series was a pillar on the PlayStation 2, developed by Sucker Punch, the team behind the upcoming title Ghost of Tsushima. It spawned three titles on the platform, with a fourth released on PlayStation 3 nearly 10 years later. The series as a whole was well-received and fondly remembered by many. These fond memories seem to be a key reason to bring the series back, and with the last entry ending in a cliffhanger, it would only make sense. Not to mention, 3D platformers have been on the rise since their last release.
"We love Sly," said Kraemer while speaking to Kinda Funny Games. "I’ll tell you a tidbit of information. The original first episode of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was supposed to be Egypt in Sly Tutankhamen and Egypt was going to be a DLC episode. That was the intention and we never got to finish that out. I do [and the team] at Sanzaru have the story and the whole episode done on paper form."
Kraemer continued by mentioning how he'd love to return to the world of Sly Cooper, noting that they're often questioned about Sly's return. He then directed fans to tell Sony, the publisher of the series, how much they miss their favorite raccoon. He states that they're always ready to dig back into the series.
As stated earlier, Sly Cooper is originally a Sucker Punch series. The return of the series with Thieves in Time was developed by Sanzaru Games, most recently credited for the VR title Asgard's Wrath. If a return were to happen, it's unclear whether Sanzaru Games would need permission from Sucker Punch, or if it have full reign, aside from Sony being the publisher. If it requires input from Sucker Punch, we could be waiting a while as the studio continues developing Ghost of Tsushima with an unclear release date.
So we know the pens and keyboards behind Sly Cooper are ready to go, but it's less clear how the bank accounts and their owners feel. Nostalgia has been a big selling tool for a number of years now, as seen countless times in the indie market. A new Sly Cooper could easily find success with that and the enthusiasm of its previous development team. Perhaps enough prodding at Sony would be the ticket to a new entry in the series.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is out now on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
Source: The PlayStation Brahs