Ghost of Yotei studio Sucker Punch "can only do one thing at a time," admits co-founder – and that's why the "really important" decision of its next game is so hard: "It kind of has to be your best idea, right?"

Ghost of Yotei
(Image credit: Sony)

Ghost of Yotei and Ghost of Tsushima studio Sucker Punch will likely continue to focus on a project at a time, with co-founder and studio head Brian Fleming explaining why "we really can only do one thing at a time."

Speaking to VGC during a recent interview, Fleming says that no matter what project Sucker Punch picks up next, it's going to be the one project that they see through from conception to release – no other games stealing the spotlight of their focus along the way. "The truth is that whatever we do next, whether it's continuing Ghost or going back to Sly," he admits, "the decision is really more limited by, again, our cherishing of focus and time to iterate."

This "means that we really can only do one thing at a time," as Fleming puts it. "If we were good at juggling four projects, yeah, we'd have a remaster, and, 'let's go do one of those, and one of those,' and do some fan request, that would be really popular… But we only get to do one thing." Doing just the "one thing at a time" means that said one thing must be the developers' greatest potential idea – even if all their other suggestions are good, too.

"It kind of has to be your best idea, right? And that's really clarifying," continues the lead. "It's not like there aren't 15 good ideas, but you only get to do one – and by the way, you only get to do one about every five years, so that choice is really important. I mean, that is choosing your college and your major every five years." He isn't wrong, here. Whatever the devs choose to work on will consume the majority of their time for a long time.

Fleming uses an example of picking a college or future outside of work to exemplify this: "You could go to Cambridge, but you could also go to UCLA. And you could also decide you're going to go to the Peace Corps, but you can only do one of those in the next five years." As he concludes, "Wow, that's a really big decision. You'd better think carefully about it" – and this same sentiment applies to Sucker Punch's development process.

It seems like hyper-focusing on just one project at a time works well for the studio. The devs do produce some serious bangers. After all, our own Ghost of Yotei review praises the team for creating "one of the first PS5 games to feel truly boundary-pushing."

Playing one of this year's best new games yet? Be sure to read through our Ghost of Yotei tips for the smoothest possible experience.

Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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