Following Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch—the Sony first-party studio that put Ghost of Yotei on a commercial success trajectory—has been hit by a wave of layoffs.

This news was reported on October 26 (local time) by the gaming outlet Aftermath, following interviews with former Sucker Punch employees. Sucker Punch is known to have fewer than 200 total staff members, and the report mentions that 24 employees were laid off. Even based on a headcount of 200, this means that over 10% of the entire workforce has been cut.

An internal Sucker Punch email obtained by the outlet contained a message from the management. According to the email, Sucker Punch management told the staff, "After carefully examining difficult market conditions and reviewing the headcount needed for our next project, we have decided to reduce our workforce. As a result, several roles within Sucker Punch will be eliminated." Management added that they would support the departing employees to help them smoothly transition through this period and that they would reveal more details about future plans next week.

Sucker Punch built its reputation with the Sly Cooper and Infamous series, and Ghost of Tsushima, introduced as a new IP in 2017, received critical and public acclaim, joining the ranks of blockbusters. The latest title, Ghost of Yotei, achieved cumulative sales of 3.3 million copies within a month of its release, and according to data released on October 16 by market research firm Alinea Analytics, it is estimated to have sold over 5.4 million copies.

It leaves a bitter aftertaste that even Sucker Punch—which, alongside Insomniac Games among Sony's first-party developers, has consistently delivered new titles and posted respectable commercial results—could not guarantee job security.