Ghost of Yotei Developer Fired Over Charlie Kirk Joke Speaks Out

Ghost Of Yotei Dev Breaks Silence Following Charlie Kirk "Joke" Firing Atsu in Ghost of Yotei wearing the onyro mask. By  Nicholas Becher Published 5 minutes ago Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond.  Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

After the firing of Ghost of Yotei developer Drew Harrison over a controversial "off-color joke" made regarding Charlie Kirk's death, Sony claimed that "making light of someone’s murder is a deal-breaker for us," full stop. The decision to let Harrison go was made after Sucker Punch and Sony began receiving waves of backlash, death threats, and more from Kirk supporters over the comments.

However, in an interview with Aftermath, Harrison claims that Sucker Punch and Sony "kowtowed" to pressures from an online campaign to cancel anyone who mocked Kirk's death, and made the decision to fire her with virtually no investigation.

Harrison argues that the studio's bottom line was more important to them than protecting their employees, stating that "studios don’t want to address toxicity against their employees because they see it as confronting the dark sides of their community, which they believe is a core demographic."

Ghost Of Yotei Dev Drew Harrison Was Fired Ahead Of Launch

The situation around Harrison's firing and Ghost of Yotei's launch is a bit more complex than we previously thought. Harrison was fired before Sucker Punch's launch of Ghost of Yotei for a joke made over Charlie Kirk's assassination earlier this year. Allegedly, the studio made the decision after facing pressures from the community.

According to Harrison, who acknowledges now that "the joke was not in the best taste," but also notes that nobody from Sucker Punch or Sony gave her a valid reason for the firing, and the decision was made based on "the comments" of the Bluesky post, not the post itself.

Further, Harrison claims that "at no point did anyone ask me to delete it. At no point did anyone ask me to apologize," they simply ended her employment with virtually no investigation into actual wrongdoing. She argues she was “fired because of a harassment campaign. It wasn’t the result of a bad joke.”

Sucker Punch And PlayStation Were Quick To Act

Harrison's comments highlight a growing concern in the industry over how studios should deal with online harassment campaigns against their employees. Sucker Punch and Sony were very quick to drop the hammer on Harrison and didn't provide many details about the decision, either with Harrison or with the public.

Sony and Sucker Punch have not offered any clarifying announcements regarding the situation, and as Harrison notes, the firing had very little impact on the game's release. Ultimately, at this stage at least, it's Harrison's word against Sucker Punch and Sony, and the controversial decisions surrounding Ghost of Yotei's firing are sure to face more scrutiny in the coming weeks.

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Like Follow Followed Ghost of Yotei Action Adventure Open-World 9/10 10 10/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 87/100 Critics Rec: 93% Released October 2, 2025 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol Developer(s) Sucker Punch Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Multiplayer Online Co-Op

Genre(s) Action, Adventure, Open-World Powered by Expand Collapse

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