inFAMOUS Developer Sucker Punch Now Counts 80 Developers After Layoffs

inFAMOUS developer Sucker Punch Productions has gone through a round of layoffs of unknown size in August, and is currently hiring again to work on a new project.

Today the current size of the team was revealed.

[jhoward585]

WOW, 80 devs isn't going to be enough man power.

[Abriael]

Lol, seriously? What do you know exactly on how many people are needed to make a game?

[jhoward585]

The question is what type of game. 80 devs count is good to produce a 1st wave game, but not for 2nd/3rd wave aaa game. UNLESS that dev team take a lot a time to make the game. Noticeably, there has been way too many game delays happening in the gaming industry so far. That tells me a lot as far as how much man power is needed to make a successful aaa game in a timely manner.

Personally speaking, I think Infamous was a great, but in actuality it wasn't all that Good IMO. Its just didn't feel full enough for a aaa game. Of course, its a 1st wave game so I should n't expect anything more than what was already given.

1886 is a one hit wonder; meaning that it won't have much replay value. The graphics are incredible nonetheless. However, I think A bigger devs team could've made it a different game because I think most devs make game play/visual choices for a game based on the man power they have. I guess that probably the reason why UBI hired more devs to finish the division, especially making a big claim like bungie did with destiny. That said, saying a game will last 10 years is hard to believe. But with 300 devs count that's possible.

[nX]

^Damn what are you smoking? Or are you really that clueless? Look at AC:Unity, Watch Dogs or Destiny, those are the best examples that more manpower doesn't give you magically a better game. 80 people is more than enough and you can bet that this number will increase as they head into full production (again).

[DarkAstronaut]

@jhoward585

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photo...

[jhoward585]

@Bloodborn

Come on man. You can be for real. All those games you mentioned are all complete failures. Of course the devs rush these game out the gate. But its ruining their reputation. They can afford to keep doing this over and over again.

SO delaying a game is a better move. Besides, Why do you think most of Nintendo are doing as successful as far as game sales. You guess as good as mines. Its b/c they refuse to let a game come out of the gate until they feel it meets their standards. The drawback is, they don't crank out enough games in a timely manner dued to the long game delays.

Bottom line, I don't think sucker punch will remain at 80 devs count. I think they wanted to get rid of the weak links who weren't doing much to carry their weight with in their company. My bet is, there going to do more hiring in the coming months. I could be wrong though. I'm not perfect.

[Inception]

@jhoward585

"1886 is a one hit wonder; meaning that it won't have much replay value"

Wow you already got your hands on the final product? Awesome. Can you please show me a picture of your copies, pleaseeeee?

[Prime157]

Jhoward, the first infamous game was made with a team of ~60. ( http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w... )

Second son had 110 where I'm sure many of that was the new engine?

Smaller teams have done more... like this one-man team: http://www.gamasutra.com/vi...

[opoikl]

http://www.examiner.com/art...

Uncharted 2 dev team was 85 people strong.

Also, you need to adjust your definition of "one hit wonder". It has nothing to do with replay value.

[masterfox]

shut up!! we need 1080p engineers!!! ok ?, that career even exist ? lol

Just fooling around with you :P

[mikeslemonade]

You gamers suck for not buying Infamous SS. That game is underrated and should have been nominated for GOTY.

[Riderz1337]

1000+ developers obviously. Just look at how well AC Unity worked out with 8 different studios working on the game!

[CuddlyREDRUM]

What do you know, Abriael?

[Forn]

@jhoward585

I didn't realize that Sucker Punch was developing their next game for multiple platforms... Oh wait, that's right, they're not.

[Thatguy-310]

Look at games like watch dogs. So much for man power huh

[DarkAstronaut]

What the hell are you talking about? 80 as a core is fine, they hire and outsource as development ramps up or not if they don't feel they have to.

The word of the day: Budgets

[Double_O_Revan]

Exactly. Not every game needs to be Assassins Creed and use hundreds of people, and still have the game turn out like crap.

[MrSec84]

Exactly, they have their engine for PS4 now as well, so resources are used to update that, not completely build it.

I'm pretty sure that Naughty Dog ended up having 80 people working at the end of Uncharted 2, so clearly quality can be achieved with a core team of that size, even on complicated hardware like PS3.

Hell WiLD is being made with 13 staff and that game's going to be the size of Europe and development is headed up by Michel Ancel. No Man's Sky is another example of a game that will be huge, of great quality and the studio is tiny.
Hellblade is another example of a game, developed by Ninja Theory, only a few guys are working on it.

Huge studios aren't needed nowadays to develop games, 80 staff could make multiple games simultaneously, even AAA quality titles.

[jhoward585]

@disagrees

You guys can disagree all you want. I know in time you'll see it. But not today. So I'm cool with it.

[MrSec84]

Fewer than 20 staff is enough to make WiLD and that game's going to be the size of Europe, it also looks stunning and Michel Ancel us a genius when it comes to games design.
A handful of people is enough to make No Man's Sky and even fewer is plenty to make Hellblade.

Sucker Punch are a talented bunch, definitely on par with any of those studios.

[Gority]

No mans sky is less than 10 people.

[Yahdaree]

Jhoward dude man.

[ABeastNamedTariq]

People can't be this clueless.. Can they? Lmfao what are you on

[GamerWIP]

your disagrees somehow adds bubbles to ur already cluess arguments. N4G is soo broken

seriously folks stop wit da disagrees, just makes him furiously adding bubbles to make him feel better

[SilentNegotiator]

You can keep posting ignorant crap all you want. It won't make it right.

[Inception]

Dude, i can see your parents hiding your brain somewhere in area 51 for years. So please, don't bother PM me and explaining what is One Hit Wonder means.

[kenshiro100]

Are you feeling alright? Did someone spike your drink or something?

I don't know what makes you think 80 people aren't enough for a game. Quantity doesn't always mean quality.

[yarbie1000]

500+ are working on Destiny http://www.gamespot.com/art...

[jhoward585]

If Bungie told you they had 1 mil devs working on destiny you'll believe that too. Don't believe everything you hear or read.

500+ devs still doesn't mean they can't rush a game out the gates.

I look at the motives too.

[DarkAstronaut]

I don't think it takes 500+ to replace cut content.

I need reciepts.

[Dark11]

they have gone through a round of layoffs even though SS sold well? sound like other sony divisions will affect the playstation division.

[GameDev1]

these layoffs were before SS released and now they are hiring

read the article

[johndoe11211]

We can always count on yo to post utter and complete drivel.

[neoandrew]

They are not ubi, they don't need 1000 people and still fuck up...

[Saithraphim]

oh rly, how many does your studio use for your triple A title?

[shaenoide]

The real question is : How many developers does it take to change a light bulb? :p

[shaenoide]

"and is currently hiring again to work on a new project"

But no one cares about this part of course... an article is not about headline only :/.

[showtimefolks]

People don't kno this but sucker punch have always been a very small development team. Also take into account when a game is in development usually devs hire more help and when a game is done they usually let them go

[Muzikguy]

I agree! Games can't be made with any less than 100 people!! That's at LEAST 100 people to release AAA games! That's 10 working on the game itself and 90 more just standing around getting paid to drink coffee and tell jokes, while farting and stroking their egos all day....

/s

Edit: I love seeing how some of these amazing games can be made with such small, or just smaller in general, teams. Kind of a slap in the face from people that were claiming "development costs are out of control!" Lies! It all comes down to how things are handled. Obviously a company will complain about money when they have hundreds of people on the payroll and roll out nothing more than polished poo that nobody wants

[GameDev1]

for what exactly? it all depends on the game you are making so your statement is vague

No man's sky started with 4 people and moved on to 8 now, and that is an indie title that competes with AAA's out today

[larrysdirtydrawss]

they work on one game at a time,and release games after atleast a few years in development not annually, thats plenty of ppl not including the temps when needed

[mrbojingles]

That's WAY more than enough with a competent studio, which I believe SP is. I'd love to see them make a Sly game on PS4 with say, 20 people while focusing 60-70 on a new IP or another InFAMOUS.

I mean, No Man's Sky is made by like 10 people. I think most Zelda or Mario teams never really ballon past 20-30.

[jznrpg]

There are other teams that can help as well, companies do this all the time.

[Revengeance]

RE6 was worked on by 600 people.

It became one of the most disappointing games of 2012.

More manpower=/=better game

[Oldman100]

It all comes down to the passion at the end of the day.

[MazzingerZ]

It will be ok, SONY's 1st party studios just grew too large during the PS3 era due to the complexity of the HW

PS4 is all the opposite

[sin7279]

Please don't!

[IIFloodyII]

That's how many they had before the layoffs...

[extermin8or]

yeah it will... look at no mans sky lol looks like an awesome game-4 people strong. Elder scrolls team is only like 100-200 people max, uncharted 2 was under 90 people, uncharted 3 and the last of us were about 100 (not sure how many ND has now but it's not loads) "too many cooks spoil the broth" is the saying we are looking for here I believe.

[Death]

I picked up the Infamous SS Dualshock bundle at BestBuy over the weekend on sale for $79.99. It also came with the charge base. Great deal if you have been putting off getting infamous or just plain missed it at launch.

[NegativeCreep427]

Really? Geez that sounds like a pretty good deal. I bought Infamous SS on Black Friday for only $20 at Best Buy.

[Death]

They still had Infamous at $20 on sale. The charge station was $35 and a DualShock $55. I needed another Dualshock and wanted a charging station. I not only saved $10 for the two, I also got Infamous for free. I was very happy with the deal.

[Muzikguy]

I was going to buy the game on Black Friday because it was so cheap ($20?). I didn't though because I might end up with it at Christmas. My girl told me to stop buying stuff!

@gameDev
Funny.... +1

[andrewer]

Infamous doesn't matter they are Sly Cooper creators! xD

Hope nothing serious happen to them

[DarkAstronaut]

Infamous Second Son sold as much as Titanfall on Xbox One and sold more worldwide than Ryse, Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon combined. It's also sold more than Mario Kart, Bayonetta and Donkey Kong combined worldwide. I'm sure they'll be fine.

[Dudebro90]

Math isn't your best subject is it?

[XiMasterChief]

No it didn't.

[GameDev1]

I know it was the best selling next gen game of one month where it beat titanfall
http://www.dualshockers.com...

But you would have to prove the other stats cause I dont remember, but if it is then good for the IP

[lodossrage]

The part about the layoffs is old news since that happened in August. And the fact that they've been rehiring tells you they're just fine.

PS- If you think manpower suddenly equates to a great game, you're out of your mind. Some of the games people considered "broken" have had teams well past 200 in number.

[showtimefolks]

No doubt man AC series usually has 500 plus developers and look how it turns out. This is the normal process of gaming, when a game is in development hire more temporary help, once game is done and team is thinking about its next game let go of the extra staff.

And when a new game starts than rehire more developers again

Sucker lunch delivered awesome SLY games and back than they had a team of less than 50 people

[shivvy24]

man i would love if they split a small team and worked on sly

[Ryan741]

Dam, that sucks for all those folks that lost their jobs. Never a good sign when a company is always downsizing.

[lodossrage]

That very same company is always hiring too. But as per usual people don't read.

In this VERY article you commented in, it shows they've been rehiring. Same as Santa Monica studios.

[GameDev1]

Its all part of the literary program of N4G

Fund a non reader today, just for 2.00 pounds a month you can make a big difference

[Silly gameAr]

Shhh. It's doom and gloom. The hiring part doesn't matter. /s

[chaosx]

I hope it works out for them , having a smaller more focused team. They have a very controlled environment for release so they can almost guarantee a ROI on a AAA release on the PS4. I just hope they are given the chance to try a new IP and not feel forced to push out another Infamous first.

[bligmerk]

These HD games are more about how much content is in them, versus just pure development. Huge texture maps, voice acting, symphonic music, all kinds of prop modeling, a lot of labor intensive jobs for different parts of the development. In between projects, it is just business as usual to thin down content people while the coder development team usually has a stable core. The news about them hiring now means the next project is a go.

[linkenski]

I think Sucker Punch said even before making Second Son that they prefered being small and managable, which is why they always work as one team.

Remember, oversized developers from continued growth killed companies like Irrational, the developers of Bioshock for instance. These layoffs might've been a good thing, although I do pity the workers who got laid off, and I pray they're able to get up and back on the horse somewhere else within the industry.

[360ICE]

80! That's less than 90! Thank god it's more than 70, though.

But what if it wasn't?

[Kingdomcome247]

Lol!

[masa2009]

It's obvious that when they ramp up production for their next game they are going to hire more. Their next game is not going to get made by just 80 dudes.

What this reflects however is a disturbing industry trend of hiring and discarding employees depending on the flow of dev cycles.

Nowadays, there are plenty of companies who do not fire their workers based on genuine economic hardship, it has just become standard practice to treat a large chunk of your workforce as interim workers.

And Sony is known for being among those that do it a lot. I remember reading stories about Ready At Dawn sacking and hiring and sacking guys abruptly to comply with Sony's demands.

Ubisoft, for all the crap they take recently, always keeps their guys active and reassigns them to new projects when production of a given game has moved past the stage where they are needed.

[Madrigal]

Not good.

[kenshiro100]

They are hiring new people. Did you read the article?

[Madrigal]

Yes, because 80 people being fired can be justified by hiring more... Oh, sorry, stating the obvious also happens to cast a negative light on a Sony dev team. I forgot that I was on N4PS for a second there.

[Kayant]

"Yes, because 80 people being fired can be justified by hiring more" - Receipts... Yh because overall stuff now equals staff that were layed off months ago /s.

Looool stating obvious. Troll harder.

[kenshiro100]

You didn't read the article. Go home, you're drunk.

[Madrigal]

Um... I did. Care to explain to me the part where it says that 80 people weren't let go?

[dmonee]

Some of the better games in the last year or so are developed with smaller teams now. However, is it 80 more people they have added or does sucker punch only have 80 people developing their next game? Either way, they know what theyre doing

[JMyers]

I wish Sony had bundled Infamous: Second Son over the holiday season. The game really is impressive.

[MegaRay]

My favorite first-party dev. Hope Sony open asecond studio for them

[Smoey]

It took 3 DEVs to make No Man's Sky, it's not about how many it's about how good they are.

If you want a secure job as a DEV you can't go into the games industry, they layoff so many people it's crazy. You spend months and months building a game, it's done then you're gone.

Unfortunately, gamers get it into their heads that it will be this amazing job and thus they have so many people to pick from. If you want to be a dev, work in the industry, just not in the games industry then when you're at home you can make what ever you want to, hell collaborate online with others if you want to make something bigger.

[TWB]

80 people is barely enough if you compare that to other game dev teams but its true that small teams can work out some wonderful games. Bigger teams doesnt equal better games, its probably the opposite in terms of bugginess.

I believe the modern day standard is 150-200.

If I remember correctly DICE has 600 people under their name but have only 2-3 big teams.

[feraldrgn]

All I took from this is "Sucker Punch is working on a new title? Yesss".
80 devs is plenty.

[cellfluid]

This is great.. I hope more layoffs happens across the board from these weak developers giving us false promises.. With subresolution and last Gen frame rate.. Step your craft up or get fired period.. (waiting on ubisoft layoffs and any other weak development team the only thing u can count on from them is and abundance of lies and unanswered questions!!!

[beereal360]

Make games for xbox and get the people their jobs back

[Guitardr85]

Dont really get how this is news. Most companies lay off between projects; just doesn't make financial sense to keep all of your people around while you spend months locking down what your next game will be.