Sucker Punch cuts 24 jobs weeks after Ghost of Yōtei expansion

Hot off the wire, and it isn’t pretty: Sucker Punch Productions, the studio behind Ghost of Yōtei, cut 24 jobs on Monday, October 26. ¹²

The number comes from a former employee. ¹ An internal email to staff said the studio had “decided to make some staffing reductions” after weighing market challenges and what its next project needs. ¹² Several positions across the studio were eliminated. ² The email also said the decision was not made lightly and called it “a hard day.” ¹²

The studio is believed to employ roughly 200 people, though exact counts aren’t available. ² That puts the cuts at a meaningful slice of the shop. Sony Interactive Entertainment, the parent company, has been asked for comment. ¹

The timing is the part that stings. The Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition, with its Echoes of Sekigahara narrative expansion, a roguelike-style survival mode called Most Wanted, and the Legends co-op mode, was slated for October 1. ³ The expansion was well received. ² The game itself sold 3.3 million copies in its first 32 days on sale. ⁴ It was also Sony’s biggest first-party PlayStation launch in Europe, and the company said it helped lift digital game and add-on revenue 6% to $4.8 billion last quarter. ¹

So the studio shipped a hit, kept the content coming, and then cut staff. Sucker Punch’s own words point at the next project rather than at Yōtei’s results. Its leadership has said it takes on one project at a time and would pick the next one after Legends came out. ⁴ The email promised more detail on the future next week. ¹²

The cuts land in a rough stretch for the industry. EA recently closed BioWare and cut around 400 jobs, and Xbox has more reductions still to come after its plan to shed about 3,200 workers over 12 months. ² Our earlier report on EA’s Battlefield studio layoffs tells a similar story: a big launch, then a pink slip.

One thing to watch is that all of this traces back to a single internal email, and the headcount is a former employee’s figure, not an official one. Sony hasn’t confirmed the number.

Our read: A well-reviewed game, strong sales and a fresh expansion didn’t protect 24 people. Whatever Sucker Punch has planned next, it apparently needs a smaller crew, and the studio says it will explain more in the coming week. I’ll be waiting by the telegraph. Next week is a long time in this business, pal.

Footnotes

1. gamesindustry.biz, “Sucker Punch lays off 24 staff after Ghost of Yōtei content”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Engadget, “Ghost of Yōtei studio Sucker Punch reportedly lays off 24 workers”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

3. PlayStation Blog, “Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition Comes to PS5 October 1”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩

4. IGN, “Ghost of Yotei Sells 3.3 Million Copies in Its First Month on Sale, Sony Confirms”. Retrieved November 1, 2026. ↩ ↩²