Sucker Punch Cuts 24 Jobs After Ghost of Yotei's Strong Launch

Sony-owned Sucker Punch Productions laid off 24 workers on Monday, October 26, according to Engadget, which attributed the figure to Aftermath. Aftermath, citing an unnamed former Sucker Punch employee, has reported that at least 26 jobs were cut. Sony confirmed to IGN that a reduction in workforce had taken place at the studio.

Sucker Punch is a first-party studio, meaning it is owned by the platform holder, in this case Sony's PlayStation division. It is best known for the Sly Cooper and Infamous franchises. The studio made Ghost of Yotei, which launched in October 2025 and sold 3.3 million copies in its first month, according to Engadget. Push Square puts the studio's headcount at roughly 230 people, which makes the 24 reductions about a tenth of staff.

The cuts came a few weeks after Sucker Punch released an expansion for Ghost of Yotei that was well received. According to Engadget, the studio told staff that the reductions followed a review of market challenges and team needs for its next project. The studio has not, in the reporting so far, named that project or said when it would be announced.

Leadership is also changing. In December 2025, co-founder and studio head Brian Fleming announced he was stepping down after 28 years at Sucker Punch Productions. Game Developer reported at the time that his departure was scheduled for April of the following year. The layoffs are the first reported at the studio since that announcement, and they land during a leadership transition already in motion.

In my view, the most useful way to read the announcement is as a statement about planning rather than about the game. Sales of 3.3 million copies in a month and a well-received expansion describe how the current product is performing commercially. Staffing for the next project depends on scope, schedule, and how many people that scope requires, and the studio's stated rationale does not break those down. Readers should weigh the explanation against the timing: the reductions came after new content had shipped, not during a stalled release.

The broader context here is that large first-party studios are planning multi-year productions against a market that changes faster than the development cycle. Cutting a 230-person team by roughly a tenth is a material decision for the people affected, and it also shapes what the remaining staff can attempt. The open questions for the studio, and for the PlayStation group that owns it, are whether the next project's team design gives remaining developers a clearer path to shipping, and whether the people let go find roles elsewhere in an industry that is still producing ambitious single-player games.