Sucker Punch Productions, the acclaimed studio behind the beloved Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei, is laying off 26 developers to cut costs. A new report states the award-winning PlayStation studio is cutting around 10-15% of its workforce despite the success of its samurai sequel, Ghost of Yotei, as it prepares for its next project.
According to Aftermath’s report on the layoffs, an ex-Sucker Punch employee shared a company email from the studio leadership with the outlet on October 26, 2026, that details the layoffs:
“After carefully observing the challenges in the market and reviewing the team needs for our next project, we’ve decided to make some staffing reductions. Several positions across Sucker Punch will be eliminated as a result.”
“We know this is a lot to take in, and we want to assure you that we did not make this decision lightly. We have given this a lot of attention and worked to support our affected colleagues during this transition as well as we can. … There’s no getting around that this is a hard day. Next week we will go into more details about the future,” wrote Sucker Punch about the layoffs.
For comparison, Sucker Punch has around 200 employees, so a 26-employee reduction brings them to under 180. The studio recently released Ghost of Yotei’s new story DLC, Echoes of Sekigahara, along with new content, which critics and fans praised. PlayStation also introduced its new PS5 QSSR technology in Ghost of Yotei, making it one of the first games to feature it.
Sony CFO Lin Tao previously confirmed during the company’s Q3 FY25 earnings call that Ghost of Yotei exceeded the sales of Ghost of Yotei in the same period of time from its release, selling 3.3 million units 32 days after its October 2, 2025, release.
Naturally, this left fans wondering whether other PlayStation developers will get the same statement, particularly eyeing Marvel’s Wolverine developer Insomniac Games, since their Marvel game opened to commercial success but lukewarm reviews from critics and fans alike.
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