Following the success of Ghost of Yotei, studio head Brian Fleming revealed that Sucker Punch still intends to focus on one project at a time rather than spreading resources across multiple games.
After the release of Ghost of Yotei, VGC interviewed Brian Fleming, co-founder and head of Sucker Punch Productions. Fleming explained that the Bellevue-based Sony studio remains committed to developing a single game at a time instead of dividing its efforts across multiple projects. He also noted that the team faces both internal pressure from developers and external pressure from fans when it comes to exploring new creative directions.
“The truth is that whatever we do next—whether it’s continuing Ghost or returning to Sly—the decision really comes down to how much we value focus and time for iteration. That means we can only do one thing at a time. If we were good at handling four projects simultaneously, sure, we’d have a remaster and make some fan-requested titles that would be really popular. But we can only make one. So it has to be your best idea, right? And that’s a clarifying thing. It’s not that there aren’t 15 great ideas—we just get to make one. And by the way, we only get to make one every five years or so. So that choice really matters.”
Fleming added that the studio has evolved significantly over its 30-year history: “We now have employees whose parents worked here and others who weren’t even born when the studio was founded. From Sly to InFamous to Ghost, the changes we’ve gone through also mean stepping away not just from Tsushima and its actors, but from some long-time developers who might not want to make another historical game.”
The Ghost franchise has perhaps grown larger than anyone expected. The excellent Ghost of Yotei is reportedly selling nearly as fast as its predecessor, while Sony has already invested in a live-action adaptation directed by Chad Stahelski and an anime series titled Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, based on the game’s multiplayer mode. It seems very likely that Sucker Punch will remain on the Ghost series for at least one more chapter.
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