Sly Cooper disappeared after 2013's Thieves in Time, but that hasn't stopped fans from wishing for a new game. They may be in luck though, as new rumors indicate that a new Sly Cooper game began development this past summer.
Sucker Punch has come a long way since its days of making Sly Cooper. From the Infamous series in the PS3 era, to last year's incredible Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch has grown as a developer, creating ambitious titles that have fluorished on PlayStation's consoles. The last entry in the Sly series was Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, a sequel to the original trilogy not developed by Sucker Punch but Sanzaru Games, receiving mixed to favorable reviews. That game released at the end of the PS3's life cycle, making it nearly a decade since a new title, but recent rumors have been pointing toward a return of Sly Cooper.
Leaker Nick Shpeshal iterates on his previous rumor, confirming a Sly Cooper sequel to be in development, but with some new information. Shpeshal, co-founder of XboxEra, has been on target with many rumors in the past, originally breaking the news on Sly Cooper's development in October. He was tagged in a post listing points about the Sly Cooper game, him restating that it is very early in development—started work in summer 2021—and that a tease may happen at a State of Play event or sometime in the middle of 2022. Considering the disappointment by fans in the latest State of Play, a reveal of a new Sly game at a future event would likely flip the script.
There is a third point in the original tweet that Shpeshal does not have much to say about. The statement names the new game as Sly Cooper 5 and that is coming to PS5, with uncertaintly for PS4; Shpeshal writes simply, "Point 3 I don't know. Haven't heard anything." Thieves in Time was essentially Sly Cooper 4, though it lacked the number in its official numerical branding. As for which studio could potentially be making Sly Cooper 5, that remains unknown.
During the PS2 era, PlayStation ran with three major mascot platformer franchises, each providing their own takes on the genre: Sucker Punch's Sly Cooper (obviously), Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank, and Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter. The only franchise to have survived into the PS5 generation with consistent releases is Ratchet and Clank, this year seeing the release of the fantastic Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Despite being gone for so long, these rumors consistently bring out tons of support for Sly Cooper's revival, and it really would be awesome to see PlayStation tap into its history a bit. Just as long as it doesn't follow the Sly Cooper movie's footsteps and just vanish from the news, a new Sly Cooper game would be great.
