Sucker Punch Productions Co-Founder Brian Fleming Is Departing From The Studio

Sucker Punch Productions, which released Ghost of Yōtei back in October, has announced that one of its co-founders and studio head, Brian Fleming, is departing from the company. Starting January 1, creative and technical directors Jason Connell and Adrian Bentley will step into new roles as studio heads, continuing Fleming’s mission at the PlayStation first-party studio. 

Brian Fleming

Sucker Punch was founded 28 years ago, in 1997, by Fleming and five others. Fleming has been with the studio all this time, helping bring to life PlayStation franchises like Sly Cooper, InFamous, Ghost of Tsushima, and recently, Ghost of Yōtei. A press release about the news says Fleming has been working closely with PlayStation Studios to “ensure that Sucker Punch was in the best hands moving forward with a strong foundation for the studio’s continued success.” 

It seems that led Fleming and PlayStation to hand over the reins of Sucker Punch to Connell and Bentley, who will continue “to guide the team’s focus on ambitious, character-driven experiences that define PlayStation Studios.” 

Connell previously worked as the co-creative director on the studio’s Ghost franchise, defining “the studio’s visual identity and storytelling style, bringing cinematic depth and emotional resonance” to players, the blog post reads. Bentley, as technical director, led the studio’s engineering and production efforts, “driving innovation across development tools and game systems that make Sucker Punch’s worlds so immersive.” 

Jason Connell (left), Adrian Bentley (right) – Sucker Punch Productions Studio Heads

“Together, they represent the perfect blend of creative vision and technical excellence that has always set the studio apart,” the post continues. 

Elsewhere in the studio, Nate Fox will continue as the co-creative director at Sucker Punch. 

Following the release of Ghost of Yōtei back in October, Sucker Punch has been preparing its free multiplayer Legends expansion for the game, which is set to launch sometime next year. 

While waiting for that, read Game Informer’s Ghost of Yōtei review, and then read Game Informer’s Ghost of Tsushima review.