Ghost of Yōtei sold well, but Sucker Punch still cut 26 jobs

Selling millions of copies apparently won’t save your team anymore. Sucker Punch Productions has laid off 26 employees, which is over 10% of the studio’s staff.

In an internal email, studio leadership said the cuts came after reviewing market challenges and the needs of the next project. They called it a hard day and promised more details on the studio’s future next week.

The timing is odd. Ghost of Yōtei sold 3.3 million copies in its first month, according to Sony. Analyst firm Alinea has since estimated 5.5 million units, with launch-period revenue only 3% below Ghost of Tsushima. The game also just got its Complete Edition and the Echoes of Sekigahara story DLC.

Why Sucker Punch did it now?

Strong sales clearly weren’t enough. My guess is the sequel cost a lot more to make, which would squeeze the profit margin. That’s only a guess, as Sony hasn’t said so.

I just hope the next Sucker Punch game doesn’t get scaled back to match a smaller team. A hit this size should buy a studio some breathing room. Apparently not.