The recent hack and subsequent shutdown of the PlayStation Network this past week has prevented many gamers from taking advantage of several online opportunities — namely Mortal Kombat matches and Portal 2 Steam integration. However, one little game that could, inFamous 2, has quietly been taking a large hit from the PSN shutdown in that its private beta has had all of its community unable to participate.

Meant to test out some of inFamous 2’s more sandbox elements — being able to create your own story missions a la LittleBigPlanet — the private beta began earlier this month, but hit a real snag when the PSN went down. Thankfully developer Sucker Punch has stepped in to assure those who were lucky enough to get in on the beta that the time period will be extended as soon as the network is back up.

Though this small sector of beta participants aren’t the primary focus of Sony’s diligent work to return the PlayStation Network to its former glory, it’s still an important part of the online community that is being affected. As the release of inFamous 2 nears, the team at Sucker Punch will need this beta feedback, especially considering they are employing a very new concept, to help iron out some of the details.

Unfortunately, being in close connection with Sony doesn't have its perks in this regard as Sucker Punch was only able to release a vague statement via their Twitter account.

We've decided to extend the beta. Once PSN is back up we'll determine by how long, but rest assured: your outcry has been heard.

While we anticipate Sony is hard at work fixing the problem(s), recent news that they are completely recreating their infrastructure suggests that it might be longer than expected.

Nonetheless, beta testers will get their complete fill of the inFamous 2 beta and all of the creation tools that come along with it. Those who didn’t get in on the beta, will get their chance to check out both the user-created levels and those developed by Sucker Punch, when the game releases in June. Hopefully by then the PSN shutdown will be something gamers can look back at and laugh.

Are there any inFamous 2 beta testers that are happy to learn their participation time is being extended?

inFamous 2 releases exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on June 7, 2011.

Source: Twitter (via CVG)