„We always want it to be 3% smaller than is the kind of minimum to do it.” Ghost of Yotei devs have a unique work philosophy, and the key issue is budget

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Ghost of Yotei was pricey, but the developers kept the budget reasonable, which is a contrast to some other sequels released by Sony.

Game development costs have risen dramatically in recent years. Things like full voice acting with translations, professional music, realistic graphics, and intricate gameplay all take more time and money. In fact, budgets can now match or even surpass those of big-budget films. And that’s before you even consider the expenses of running multiplayer servers.

Expensive sequels…

Sony is also increasing its game development spending. Even with the unsuccessful launch of Concord, PlayStation sequels generally cost significantly more to make than the original games. For instance, Horizon: Forbidden West received a budget of $212 million, nearly five times the $47 million spent on Zero Dawn. Similarly, while the first Marvel’s Spider-Man cost around $90 million to develop (excluding marketing), its sequel required a much larger investment of approximately $315 million.

If Sucker Punch had made their sequel like many other big games, it likely would have cost between $180 and $300 million to develop. However, the developers say they were able to keep the budget for *Ghost of Yotei* around $60 million – the same amount they spent on the original *Ghost of Tsushima*.

While the specific figure wasn’t revealed, even an additional $10 million would still represent a relatively modest budget for a Sony sequel.

Crew below minimum staff

How did Sucker Punch Productions achieve this? Brian Fleming, a co-founder of the studio, explained that they intentionally kept the team small – even operating with a core crew that was slightly below the minimum size typically needed to get the job done.

I’ve always admired how this team deliberately stays lean. They’ve told me they prefer being slightly understaffed – about 3% below what most would consider the bare minimum. Their philosophy is that truly amazing things happen when you have a brilliant idea and a healthy sense of urgency – not when you have endless time and resources. It’s about focused energy, you know?

This approach might seem risky, but so is expanding the development team. After the recent large-scale layoffs, many believed it happened because companies overinvested and hired too many people.

Many game studios have decided they don’t want to grow too quickly, even if their games become popular. This trend was highlighted recently by the success of a major game developed by a very small team.

Ghost of Yotei will be released on October 2 on PS5.

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2025-09-23 11:03