Sucker Punch Productions has announced a significant leadership transition, with co-founder Brian Fleming stepping away from studio leadership after nearly 30 years at the helm. The change marks a new chapter for the PlayStation Studios developer, which is best known for franchises such as Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, Ghost of Tsushima, and Ghost of Yōtei.
According to the announcement, Fleming has spent the past year working closely with PlayStation Studios to ensure a smooth handover and to position the studio for long-term stability. His departure from day-to-day leadership is framed as a deliberate transition, aimed at giving the next generation of studio leaders a strong foundation to build upon.
Beginning January 1, Jason Connell and Adrian Bentley will assume joint leadership roles as studio heads. Both figures are longstanding members of the Sucker Punch team and have played central roles in shaping the studio’s creative and technical direction in recent years. Their appointment signals continuity rather than a shift in philosophy, with the studio remaining focused on ambitious, character-driven experiences aligned with the broader PlayStation Studios portfolio.
Connell previously served as co-creative director on the Ghost franchise, where he helped define the studio’s cinematic presentation and narrative approach. His work has been closely tied to Sucker Punch’s visual identity and storytelling style, elements that have become defining traits of its recent releases. Bentley, meanwhile, has led the studio’s technical efforts as technical director, overseeing engineering, production pipelines, and the underlying systems that support the studio’s large-scale open worlds.
Together, Connell and Bentley are positioned as a complementary leadership team, combining creative direction with technical oversight. Nate Fox will continue in his role as co-creative director, rounding out the studio’s senior creative leadership as development continues on future projects.
Fleming’s influence on Sucker Punch extends beyond individual games. As one of the studio’s founders, he helped shape its internal culture around collaboration and creative risk-taking, values that PlayStation Studios credits as key to its long-running success. Those principles are expected to carry forward under the new leadership.
Sucker Punch has been part of the PlayStation family since 2000 and has consistently delivered first-party titles that emphasize strong worlds and distinctive characters. As the studio moves ahead under Connell and Bentley, it has reaffirmed its commitment to creating new experiences designed to resonate with players worldwide, while building on the legacy established over the past two decades.
