Sucker Punch Productions, which has created games such as Sly Cooper and inFamous, is to join the global development operation of Song Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS).

US-based Sucker Punch has created some of the most successful computer games in the history of Sony’s PlayStation games console, according to a statement from the global entertainment business.

President of SCE WWS, Shuhei Yoshida, says that the acquisition of Sucker Punch shows Sony’s ‘dedication’ to developing ‘world class gaming experiences’.

Sony says that day-to-day operations of Sucker Punch will continue to be run by the current management team and company founders in conjunction with SCE WWS. Financial terms of the arrangement are not disclosed.

Brian Fleming, managing partner at Sucker Punch Productions, comments: ‘We’ve enjoyed an incredible relationship with Sony.

‘The relationship with SCE has provided us with the flexibility and trust to take creative risks and invent new properties.’

The deal marks the sixteenth time that a studio has joined SCE WWS. It is the first acquisition for Sony since its March buy of UK-based Hawk Eye Innovation, a business which specialises in tracking technology for sports and events for broadcasters.

The last purchase made in conjunction with SCE was for the British company MediaMolecule in March 2010. SCE has now invested in UK businesses three times.