Sucker Punch lays off 24 to align with 'current market', 'next project needs

Alissa McAloon,Editorial Director,GameDeveloper.com

October 27, 2026

schedule1 Min Readimage via Sucker Punch

Ghost of Yotei developer Sucker Punch has laid off two dozen employees, a reduction made both amid ongoing market turbulence and as the studio looks toward development of its next project.The report, first detailed by Aftermath and later confirmed by Sucker Punch, discloses that 24 members of staff have been laid off from the studio, making for a total staff reduction of around 10 percent according to Aftermath’s estimated numbers.

An email sent to staff said that the layoffs were a both a reaction to ongoing market challenges and were necessary to better align the team to the needs of Sucker Punch’s next project.

“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,” reads the email shared by Aftermath. “Several positions across Sucker Punch will be eliminated as a result.”

The email further details that the decision was not made lightly, and that Sucker Punch is aiming to support affected colleagues “as well as we can”.

“We know this is a lot to take in, and we want to assure you that we did not make this decision lightly,” continues the email. “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.”

Layoffs & Studio ClosuresPlayStation

About the Author

Alissa McAloon

Editorial Director, GameDeveloper.com

As the Editorial Director of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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