Despite the commercial success of 'Ghost of Yōtei', developer Sucker Punch Productions has reportedly laid off 26 employees. Sucker Punch Productions' total workforce is estimated at around 200 people.
On October 26, local time, media outlet Aftermath reported that a total of 26 employees were laid off, citing a tip from a former Sucker Punch Productions employee. According to an internal email obtained by Aftermath, Sucker Punch leadership stated that after carefully observing market challenges and reviewing team requirements for their next project, they decided to make workforce reductions. As a result, several positions across the studio will be eliminated.
They added that the decision was by no means made lightly and was carefully considered over time. Leadership also expressed that they worked to support affected employees as best as possible through this difficult transition, and noted that they would share more details regarding the studio's future plans next week.
These workforce reductions come despite the commercial success of Sucker Punch's latest title, Ghost of Yōtei. Released for PS5 in October 2025, Ghost of Yōtei sold over 3.3 million copies within about a month of launch. According to estimates released by market research firm Alinea Analytics, Ghost of Yōtei accumulated 5.4 million copies in sales and $407 million in revenue roughly one year after launch. Analysis showed that while unit sales were lower than its predecessor, revenue remained at a similar level.
Sucker Punch Productions is one of PlayStation's flagship first-party studios, known for developing Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yōtei, as well as the Infamous and Sly Cooper series. Its latest game, Ghost of Yōtei, released its Complete Edition featuring new content on October 2.
