Ghost of Yotei Studio Sucker Punch Lays Off About Two Dozen Staff Despite the Game's Success

Sucker Punch Productions, the Sony studio behind Ghost of Yotei, has let go of about two dozen people. The cuts landed on Monday, and they hit the team behind a game that sold 3.3 million units in the 32 days following its release. In an email to staff, leadership explained that several positions across Sucker Punch will be eliminated after observing market challenges and reviewing the next project's needs. For Metaintro readers who build games, this guide covers the email itself, how big the cut is for a studio this size, how the game actually sold, and what Washington's layoff and unemployment rules offer anyone whose role has ended.

What Happened at Sucker Punch, and How Many Jobs Were Cut?

The counts differ by two. An ex-Sucker Punch employee told Aftermath that 24 people have been let go, a figure Aftermath printed after correcting its first version. Other write-ups put it at 26, the number in Aftermath's first version.

Sony did not respond to Aftermath's request for more information before publication, and Sucker Punch and Sony Interactive Entertainment had yet to comment as the news spread. The roles affected, the teams they sat in and any severance terms are not yet public.

What Did the Studio's Email Tell Staff?

The email's key line reads "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."

The email also said leadership "did not make this decision lightly" and had "worked to support our affected colleagues during this transition as well as we can."

The email closes: "Next week we will go into more details about the future."

The next project remains undisclosed, with speculation pointing to more Ghost, a return to Sly Cooper or inFAMOUS.

There's no getting around that this is a hard day, Sucker Punch leadership wrote in an email to staff, according to the Aftermath report.

How Big Is Sucker Punch, and How Deep Is a Cut of About Two Dozen?

Sucker Punch is small by blockbuster standards, with a total headcount of below 200. Losing about two dozen people is a significant blow for a team that size.

The studio is Bellevue-based, in Washington state, so staff who worked there fall under Washington's layoff rules. It is one of several developers that makes up PlayStation Studios, and its history runs back through the Infamous and Sly Cooper games.

Leadership changed recently too. Co-founder Brian Fleming passed his role as studio chief to Jason Connell and Adrian Bentley, who were set to take over at the start of 2026. Fleming left the studio at the end of last year.

How Well Did Ghost of Yotei Sell?

The game was a hit by Sony's own account. Ghost of Yotei launched exclusively on PlayStation 5 on October 2, 2025, and Sony highlighted its sales in the Q2 2025 earnings release of November 10, 2025. Sony has also said the game significantly contributed to its financial results.

On Sony's call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, the finance chief went further. The game "exceeded the sales of Ghost of Tsushima in the same period of time," in the words of Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao. It got there on a PS5 install base of roughly 84 million units late in 2025, at a $70 price point.

The division's numbers rose with it. For that quarter, Sony's Games and Network Services segment posted a record-high operating income of ¥515 billion (approximately $3.2 billion), a 22% increase from the previous year. Digital game and add-on content revenue rose 6% to ¥761.5 billion (approximately $4.8 billion).

Hardware was weaker. Sony shipped 8 million PS5 consoles during the holiday quarter, a 15.7% decrease compared to the 9.5 million units moved a year earlier, though the console passed a cumulative total of 92.2 million units sold worldwide. Recurring revenue from live-service games such as Helldivers 2 and MLB The Show helped offset declines in other areas.

Ghost of Tsushima released on July 17, 2020, and had sold 5 million units by November 11, 2020, after an opening burst of 2.4 million copies in its first three days, and it went on to sell 13 million copies in its first four years. It also won two awards at The Game Awards in 2020. The sequel, by contrast, does not appear to be coming to PC. A port was seemingly almost ready before word earlier this year that Yotei, Saros and future first-party single-player games would remain exclusive to the PS5.

The studio also kept shipping. A Complete Edition with the Echoes of Sekigahara expansion arrived a few weeks before the layoffs, and that expansion was critically acclaimed. The Complete Edition also brought a Most Wanted mode, and Final Weapon's own review gave the new edition a 4/5.

Why Would a Studio With a Hit Cut Staff?

The game has sold around 5.4 million units and made around $407 million in gross revenue over the past year, by the estimate of games data firm Alinea Analytics, with 36.8% of those units physical. On the same estimate, around 1.8 million copies were sold just this year, with about half a million of those in the months leading up to the expansion. Those are third-party estimates, not Sony figures.

The player base held up too. Alinea put the game at around 150,000 daily active users before doubling when Echoes of Sekigahara was released on October 1st. Against the first game, Tsushima sold a few more copies in its first year (about 7 million), but the higher cost of the new game means the two grossed more or less the same amount of money in that time. As of June, the game was also reportedly the best-selling Sony game of 2026 on the PS5, behind its predecessor in units but ahead of it in raw revenue. Fleming has put the budget at around $60 million, a much cheaper price than many of PlayStation's other massive PS5 games.

Successful teams have been cut before. Xbox called Hi-Fi Rush a success in all key measurements in 2023 and shut the studio that made it a year later. At PlayStation, Insomniac Games let some people go just four months after the launch of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Sony's next numbers are close. The cuts came a little over a week before parent company Sony reports its latest quarterly earnings.

Is This Part of a Wider Wave of Game Layoffs?

Yes. Just last week, EA closed BioWare and cut around 400 jobs, leaving EA workers facing job cuts as BioWare closes.

Microsoft is still working through its own plan. In July, Xbox set out to shed around 3,200 workers over the following 12 months, with hundreds of those still to come, and it most recently laid off 268 workers in September, when more Xbox staff lost jobs alongside the Halo handover.

Another Microsoft studio is waiting on its future. Arkane, which is said to be in the final stretch of development on Marvel's Blade, was reported last week to have had until November 13 to find a buyer or face closure, and Microsoft has since extended the consultation period by one additional month while it explores options, including finding a partner to support the studio.

The list keeps growing. Recent rounds include more than 1,000 at Epic Games, and the industry has laid off tens of thousands of employees over the last few years.

This is all strange for a number of reasons, mainly given Ghost of Yotei's success, according to the ComicBook.com report.

Does Washington's WARN Law Cover a Cut This Size?

Not on the numbers so far. Washington's version of the law covers a mass layoff, defined as 50 or more full-time workers during a 30-day period at a single site of employment, and a closure that needs to affect 50 or more full-time employees at a single worksite. A cut of about two dozen, on either count, sits below both lines. The law also applies when an employer reduces the hours of 50 or more workers by 50% or more for each month in a 6-month period.

When the law does apply, employers must give written notice sixty days before a layoff.

What Unemployment Benefits Can Laid-Off Washington Staff Claim?

Unemployment insurance is the main safety net. To qualify, you need to have lost your job through no fault of your own, and you need to have worked at least 680 hours during your base year. You also need to have earned at least some of your wages in Washington state during the last 18 months, unless you both recently left the military or worked for the federal government and are currently located in Washington state.

The weekly amount rose this summer. For new claims opened on or after July 5, 2026, the minimum weekly benefit is $383 and the maximum is $1,208, and no one can receive a weekly benefit amount that exceeds their average weekly wage. The floor and ceiling are set from the average weekly wage, which rose to $1,919 in 2025.

Benefits normally last up to 26 weeks during your benefit year, and there is no automatic extra time after that, because Extended Benefits are not available in Washington at this time. That benefit year is the 52 weeks that start when you first apply for benefits. Plan a search that fits inside that window. You don't need to claim benefits every week, and the claim stays open, so you can start filing again any time until your benefit year ends. If you move out of Washington while you look for work, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits, even if you moved out of state. Each week you claim, you must be able and available to work and actively search for a job unless the department has waived that.

Part-time work does not end a claim. You can work part time and still get benefits, with payments reduced on a set earnings chart, and the extra wages also may help you qualify for a new claim when your benefit year ends. Anyone who did not work more than 17 hours in any week in the base year may face different job search rules and may look for only part-time work. If you are unsure whether you qualify, the department's advice is plain, we recommend that you apply.

Do You Have to Take Any Job Offered While on Benefits?

Not at first. Each week you must be ready to accept suitable work, and work is suitable if you are qualified for it and have the skills to do it.

If a job is not in line with your training and experience, it is not treated as suitable, though after a period of time any job you qualify to do may become suitable work.

Pay and commute count too. Work is not suitable when the wages offered are lower than the wages common for that occupation in your area, or when it is farther than the usual commuting distance for people in your occupation. A job also fails the test when the hours or working conditions are not as favorable as most other jobs in your occupation in your area, if it is unreasonably dangerous or you physically cannot do the work, if it would offend your religious beliefs or morals, or if you would need to join or resign from a labor union.

What This Means for Game Developers, and What Should You Do Next?

The lesson here is uncomfortable but useful. A hit did not protect the team that made it, and the reason leadership gave points to market challenges and the next project's needs, not to how the game sold. If you work at a studio between games, treat that stretch as the time to keep your portfolio, references and contacts current, whatever the sales chart shows.

The second point is about size. At a small studio, a cut can be deep for the people in it while staying under the threshold in Washington's mass layoff rules. Below that threshold, the law's advance written notice does not apply, so your own records matter more.

If your role is affected:

• Keep your base-year pay records. One eligibility test is the hours you worked during your base year.
• Part-time work can stretch your claim. Part-time work usually extends the number of weeks you can draw benefits, though payments are reduced on the earnings chart.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A shipped hit is the best portfolio piece you will ever have, so put it to work the same week your role ends, while the studio's name still opens doors.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many people did Sucker Punch lay off?

A: About two dozen. An ex-employee told Aftermath 24 people were let go, a corrected count, and earlier coverage put it at 26. Sony and the studio had yet to comment when the news broke.

Q: Why did Sucker Punch cut jobs after Ghost of Yotei did well?

A: Leadership's email pointed to the challenges in the market and the team needs for the next project.

Q: Can laid-off workers in Washington get unemployment benefits?

A: Yes, if they lost the job through no fault of their own, worked at least 680 hours during the base year, earned at least some of their wages in Washington state during the last 18 months, and are able and available to work and meeting the job search requirements each week.

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