24 employees were affected in the Sucker Punch layoffs.
Sony-owned Sucker Punch, the studio behind the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei, has become the latest game developer to be hit by a wave of layoffs.
According to Aftermath, 24 employees have been let go from Sucker Punch, a significant blow considering the studio's relatively small team of approximately 200 staff.
An email from the studio's leadership to affected employees, shared with Aftermath, attributed the decision to “challenges in the market” and a review of staffing needs for its next project.
The full statement reads as follows:
“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.”
Why did Sucker Punch lay off its employees?
Sucker Punch decided to lay off 24 employees after assessing the challenges facing the gaming market, a reason increasingly cited by studios amid the industry's ongoing wave of job cuts.
The layoffs also followed a review by the studio's leadership of staffing requirements for its “next project”, apparently concluding that it needs a smaller team to work on its upcoming game.
The project remains undisclosed, and Sucker Punch has yet to make an official announcement about what it has planned. Speculation has pointed towards a continuation of the Ghost series, a return to Sly Cooper, or perhaps the inFAMOUS franchise.
Sucker Punch's Ghost series has become one of the most successful franchises in modern PlayStation history, with Ghost of Tsushima launching in 2020 and Ghost of Yōtei following in 2025. The original game has reportedly sold more than 13 million copies, according to figures shared two years ago, and won two awards at The Game Awards in 2020.
Nevertheless, the commercial success of these games has not shielded the studio from restructuring, with Sucker Punch opting to reduce its workforce despite the franchise's achievements.
This marks yet another round of layoffs in the gaming industry, following cuts affecting more than 300 employees at Electronic Arts, over 3,000 across Xbox, and more than 1,000 at Epic Games, to name just a few.
