It’s the end of an era at Sucker Punch Productions. Today, Sony announced that Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming would be passing the proverbial torch of leadership.

Coupled with this post to Twitter/X was a more detailed release, discussing the upcoming changes. Beginning in 2026, Sucker Punch will now be led by two long-standing fixtures. Specifically, we’re talking about creative and technical leaders Adrian Bentley and Jason Connell. Bentley and Connell are coming in with their own feathers in their caps. Connell was one of the co-Creative Directors on the Ghost franchise and was an integral part to some of the story-telling styles that have been pioneered by the studio. Bentley has had a large hand in the engineering and production work within Sucker Punch as Technical Director.

Fleming, per the article, has been working closely with Sony this past year. To what end? To ensure that Sucker Punch is set where it needs to be moving forward in his absence.

Brian Fleming’s Legacy

In his nearly 30 years as the co-founder of Sucker Punch, Fleming has been an integral part to the rise of many beloved franchises. We can step back to the early 2000’s to such titles as Sly Cooper and inFamous. Or we can look at modern day titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei. Or for those that have been following Sucker Punch since it’s inception, Rocket: Robot on Wheels for the Nintendo 64.

Now that we have seen the release this past year of Ghost of Yotei (check out our review here), what’s next? One thing that I have truly noticed about Sucker Punch is that each franchise that comes from them is a truly unique experience, unlike its predecessors and unlikely to be replicated in the future. Rest assured though, I’m certain that what will come will continue Fleming’s legacy.