Not even a hit is enough anymore. Sucker Punch Productions, the PlayStation studio behind Ghost of Yotei and Ghost of Tsushima, has reportedly laid off 24 people as it reshapes the team for its next project — weeks after shipping Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition.
The report comes from Aftermath, which spoke to a former Sucker Punch employee and viewed an internal email sent to staff by studio leadership. A quick honesty note, because the number matters: Aftermath originally reported 26 layoffs and has since corrected that figure to 24. Most of the coverage spreading today still says 26 — the source outlet’s own correction says 24, and that’s the number we’re going with. Sony has not publicly commented yet; Aftermath said it reached out and had not received a response, so treat this as a well-sourced report rather than an official announcement.
“We Did Not Make This Decision Lightly”
In the email viewed by Aftermath, leadership said the studio had been “carefully observing the challenges in the market and reviewing the team needs for our next project” before deciding on staffing reductions, with several positions across the studio being eliminated. The email stressed the decision was not made lightly, said the studio worked to support affected colleagues through the transition, and promised staff more detail about the future next week.
The next project itself was not named — no title, no platform, no timeline. Sucker Punch is not a giant studio, with a total headcount below 200 according to Aftermath, which makes 24 jobs a serious cut: more than one in ten people at the studio.
A Success Story That Still Wasn’t Safe
The timing is what stings. Ghost of Yotei launched on PS5 in October 2025 and sold more than 3.3 million copies in about its first month. Analyst estimates from Alinea Analytics put it at roughly 5.4 million copies and about $407 million in revenue around a year after launch, and it was reportedly Sony’s best-selling game on PS5 this year as of June, beating its predecessor Ghost of Tsushima in revenue over the same stretch, even if it trails it in total units.
Earlier this month the studio shipped Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition, headlined by the Echoes of Sekigahara story expansion and the Most Wanted mode, following Legends mode earlier in the year. By any normal measure, this is a studio coming off a win.
From Sly Cooper to the Ghost Series
Founded in 1997 and bought by Sony in August 2011, the Bellevue, Washington studio built its name on the Sly Cooper and Infamous series before reinventing itself with Ghost of Tsushima in 2020, which became one of PlayStation’s biggest new franchises of the PS4 era. Ghost of Yotei carried that forward on PS5 with Atsu’s revenge story in Ezo.
What comes next is the open question. Leadership’s email points to a team being sized for one specific next project, and more detail is promised to staff next week. Whether that project is a third Ghost game, something new, or something that skips this console generation entirely is, for now, speculation — nothing has been announced, and nothing about Ghost of Yotei itself changes for players.
For the 24 people let go after shipping one of Sony’s best sellers, though, it’s the same story the industry keeps telling in 2026: success helps, but it doesn’t protect anyone.
Original reporting by Aftermath (including its correction from 26 to 24), with coverage also from IGN, Kotaku, Push Square, and VGC.
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