Sucker Punch Layoffs Affect 26 Staffers, Former Employee Says

An internal email cited market challenges and next-project staffing needs but gave no headcount, with leadership planning a fuller discussion the following week.

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A cloaked samurai stands before a mountain landscape as the scene dissolves into a shadowy modern office with employees.

A former Sucker Punch employee told Aftermath that 26 people had been let go. An internal email viewed by Aftermath announced staffing reductions but gave no headcount, so the 26-person figure remains the employee’s account rather than a number confirmed in the message. Aftermath estimates the studio employs roughly 230 people.

Leadership attributed the cuts to market challenges and a review of staffing needs for its next project. The email said the decision was not made lightly and that the studio had worked to support affected colleagues. Leadership also planned to discuss the studio’s future in more detail the following week.

The layoffs came less than a month after Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition launched on PS5 on October 1. The package includes the campaign, Ghost of Yōtei Legends, the Echoes of Sekigahara expansion, and Most Wanted.

Ghost of Yōtei’s original PS5 launch was more than a year before the cuts. Sony’s supplemental filing recorded 3.2 million copies sold through to consumers on PS5 by November 2, 2025, about a month after the game’s release.

How do you think studios should balance upcoming project needs with support for employees affected by cuts? Follow along for updates on Sucker Punch’s staffing changes and its planned discussion of the studio’s future on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

The game takes place 300 years after Ghost of Tsushima. Set in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei, a towering peak in the heart of Ezo, an area of Japan known as Hokkaido in present day.

The area is outside the rule of Japan, and filled with sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers.