Ghost of Yōtei: Sucker Punch Layoffs Hit Studio [Confirmed]

Ghost of Yōtei developer Sucker Punch Productions has officially laid off 24 employees across multiple creative and technical departments, representing approximately 10 to 12 percent of the studio's 200-person workforce following strategic post-launch budget realignments across Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to verified reports from Polygon, the workforce reduction took place quietly despite Ghost of Yōtei achieving massive commercial praise and robust initial sales numbers. The Bellevue-based developer, renowned for Ghost of Tsushima and the Infamous franchise, previously scaled to roughly 230 total personnel during active development cycles. Industry observers note that publisher contraction trends echo the recent [BioWare Shutdown [Confirmed]: EA Closes Legendary RPG Studio](/news/bioware-closure-ea-studio-shutdown), where parent corporations aggressively trim overhead immediately following major tentpole releases. Polygon confirmed through internal staff disclosures via Aftermath that impacted team members spanned quality assurance, environment design, and engineering divisions. Sucker Punch leadership has not announced project cancellations, but internal production bandwidth for unannounced live-service prototypes and planned single-player expansion packs has been consolidated under remaining veteran staff.