Ghost of Yotei Developer Sucker Punch Reportedly Hit With Layoffs

Despite launching a critically acclaimed game in Ghost of Yotei last year, reports indicate that Sucker Punch Productions is getting hit with a round of layoffs at the studio. Following its one-year anniversary, Sucker Punch launched a sizable Complete Edition of Ghost of Yotei, adding a new expansion called Echoes of Sekigahara, a new Most Wanted game mode, as well as plenty of quality of life improvements.

Since it launched back in October 2025, there have been no shortage of comparisons between Yotei and Tsushima. Ghost of Yotei saw plenty of sales success right out of the gate, selling 3.3 million copies in the first 32 days and beating Ghost of Tsushima in that same timeframe. Unfortunately, it seems that momentum has fallen off, with Alinea Analytics reporting that Ghost of Yotei reached 5.4 million units sold by its one-year anniversary, falling behind Ghost of Tsushima‘s 7 million sold in 1 year. Despite the sales slowdown, Ghost of Yotei has been a financial success for Sony and Sucker Punch, just not to the level of its predecessor.

Sucker Punch Hit By Layoffs

Unfortunately, it would appear that those sales numbers and the critical acclaim that Ghost of Yotei received has not been enough for Sony. An ex-employee also revealed that around 26 people have been let go from Sucker Punch, with an internal email sent from studio leadership also surfacing online to provide a bit more context behind the decision, calling it a difficult day. The departments and positions impacted were not revealed, but Sucker Punch is seemingly supporting those who were impacted and plans to provide more details about what’s next for the company sometime next week.

One element that may have worked against Ghost of Yotei and its sales is the fact that the game is locked to the PlayStation 5 console. Its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, initially launched on the PlayStation 4 but eventually came to the PS5 and PC platforms as well, expanding its player base even further. Following the launch of the Complete Edition on October 1, Sony remains steadfast in not porting Ghost of Yotei to PC.

The layoffs at Sucker Punch are part of what has already been a very tough year for the games industry, as 2026 has already seen an unprecedented level of studio closures and job cuts. While Microsoft has been at the head of much of it with multiple waves of layoffs across many of its first party studios, including Halo Studios. In a surprising move, Microsoft moved the Halo franchise over to Activision, who intended to build a dedicated team to work on the series, while Halo Studios would revert to becoming more of a support team.

However, EA has been in the news recently after announcing the closure of BioWare and the cancelation of its in-development title, Mass Effect Universe. Many fans have not taken the news lightly, with a new petition gaining major amounts of steam, recently passing 200,000 signatures and even gaining the support of Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, and Owlcat Games, the studio behind Mass Effect-inspired RPG The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Meanwhile, former Mass Effect developers continue to reveal new information about the game, including story details and gameplay elements.

Systems

Released

October 2, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment