Sucker Punch Layoffs Hit Ghost of Yōtei Studio

Sucker Punch Productions has cut 26 roles as it prepares for its next project, according to a report published on Monday by Aftermath. The Sucker Punch layoffs affect a studio of fewer than 200 people, the outlet reported, citing a former employee and an internal email from studio leadership.

In the email reviewed by Aftermath, studio leadership pointed to market conditions and staffing needs for the next project as the reasons for the "staffing reductions". Leadership described the day as "a hard day" and said more details about the studio's future would follow next week, according to the report. The studio has not publicly commented on the reductions, according to Game Informer.

The cuts arrive weeks after the release of Ghost of Yōtei: Complete Edition, which added the Echoes of Sekigahara story expansion and a survival mode called Most Wanted that brings back Jin Sakai, the hero of Ghost of Tsushima, as a playable character. The Complete Edition bundles the base game with the new content for PlayStation 5.

A hit game behind the cuts

Ghost of Yōtei launched last October to strong reviews and sales. VGC's review called the game "a touching samurai epic", praising its visuals and music, while its Complete Edition review described the Echoes of Sekigahara expansion as "an expansion worth returning for".

Aftermath's account rests on a tip from a former employee and an internal email the outlet reviewed, according to Game Informer and Gematsu. Neither Sony nor Sucker Punch has issued a public statement on the reductions, and the roles affected have not been named. VGC's Complete Edition review said the expansion was worth returning for, even if it was not as long as some players would like.

The timing stands out because the Complete Edition landed earlier this month, less than four weeks before the report. That edition arrived about a year after the base game's launch, and its Most Wanted mode gave players a reason to return, with Jin Sakai stepping back into a playable role after leading Ghost of Tsushima.

The game sold 3.3 million copies within about a month of its launch, according to Inven Global. Market research firm Alinea Analytics later estimated total sales at 5.4 million copies and revenue at $407 million roughly a year after launch, according to Inven Global. Inven Global noted that unit sales ran lower than those of Ghost of Tsushima, while revenue held at a similar level.

Sony has not publicly tied the reductions to the game's sales or finances. The internal email instead points to market conditions and the staffing shape of the next project, according to Aftermath's reporting, leaving the precise roles affected unclear for now.

What comes next for the studio

Sucker Punch is among Sony's longest-running studios, known for the Infamous and Sly Cooper series before Ghost of Tsushima turned the studio toward open-world samurai stories. Ghost of Yōtei continued that direction with a new protagonist, Atsu, and a setting on the northern island of Ezo.

Leadership told staff that more details about the studio's future plans would arrive next week. Until then, the shape of the next project, and the team that will build it, remains undisclosed.

What remains unclear is which teams inside the studio were affected and whether the next project keeps the Ghost setting or starts somewhere new. The cuts follow other recent studio upheaval, including the BioWare closure and Arkane Lyon's consultation extension. Leadership has promised more details next week, and no date has been given for any announcement about the next project beyond that update.

For players, the immediate picture is unchanged: Ghost of Yōtei remains available on Sony's console, and its Complete Edition gathers the base game, the Echoes of Sekigahara expansion, and the Most Wanted mode in a single package. The question the layoffs raise is a narrower one, about how even a studio behind a commercial success staffs its next game. Reporting on the cuts comes from Video Games Chronicle and Game Informer, with additional detail from Gematsu.