We haven’t heard much about Ghost of Yōtei in recent months, but after fans spotted a morsel of new story information published to the game’s website, they’re having fun speculating about how Sucker Punch’s hotly anticipated PlayStation 5 exclusive will actually play.
The official website includes the following story snippet:
300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima, a new warrior – Atsu – rises from the ashes of her homestead.
Filled with fury and determination, Atsu will hunt down those responsible for the death of her family and exact her revenge. Every odd job and bounty will provide the coin she needs for her journey. But how she fights, survives, and evolves the legend of the Ghost, will be up to you.
We already knew Ghost of Yōtei’s setting and the time period, and that Atsu was on a revenge mission of some kind. But what we didn’t know was that she’s hunting down those responsible for the death of her family after her homestead is destroyed.
And then there’s the mention that “every odd job and bounty will provide the coin she needs for her journey. But how she fights, survives, and evolves the legend of the Ghost, will be up to you.”
Fans are speculating that Ghost of Yōtei will have a bounty hunting mechanic in which Atsu takes on jobs to earn money needed for other things in the game. There’s the potential here, then, for an actual in-game economy, where Tsushima didn’t really have any sort of money mechanic.
If true, this may tap into Sucker Punch’s stated goal of giving players more control over Atsu’s story. Creative director Jason Connell has said that one of the changes compared to Ghost of Tsushima will be a less repetitive open world: “One challenge that comes with making an open-world game is the repetitive nature of doing the same thing over again. We wanted to balance against that and find unique experiences.”
Elsewhere, the website retreads old ground, mentioning new weapon types (ōdachi, kusarigama, and dual katanas), “massive sightlines that let you look far across the environment, skies of twinkling stars and auroras, and vegetation that sways believably in the wind,” and “enhanced performance and visuals on PlayStation 5 Pro.”
And here’s the crucial point: the website lists 2025 as the release window for Ghost of Yōtei. There’s been much talk about Sony maybe waiting for Rockstar to announce GTA 6’s release date so it can make sure Ghost of Yōtei doesn’t clash. GTA 6 is currently set for a vague fall 2025 launch, but some are wondering if parent company Take-Two will delay the game into the winter or potentially beyond. With that in mind, perhaps Ghost of Yōtei will release this summer.
Whatever the release date, it does feel like things may be ramping up for Ghost of Yōtei. Hopefully we’ll hear and see more soon.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
