''Ghost of Yōtei'' is an upcoming 2025

action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...

developed by

Sucker Punch Productions Sucker Punch Productions, LLC is an American video game developer based in Bellevue, Washington. It is best known for creating character action games for PlayStation consoles such as ''Sly Cooper'', ''Infamous (series), Infamous'', and ''Ghost ...

and published by

Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

. It is a standalone sequel to the 2020 game, ''

Ghost of Tsushima In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucen ...

''. The game is scheduled to release for the

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

on October 2, 2025.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, ''Ghost of Yōtei'' is a third-person

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game with a heavy emphasis on melee combat and

open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...

exploration. The player character, Atsu, has access to a number of new weapon types, such as

ōdachi An or is a type of traditionally made used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The Chinese equivalent of this type of sword in terms of weight and length is the '' miaodao'' or the earlier ''zhanmadao'', and the Western battlefield equival ...

kusarigama A is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a '' kama'' (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle or billhook) on a kusari-fundo – a type of metal chain (''kusari'') with a heavy iron weight (''fundo'') at the end. The ''kusarigama'' is s ...

tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New Tanegashima Airp ...

, and dual katanas, with the

Kaginawa is a type of grappling hook used as a tool in feudal Japan by the samurai class, their retainers, foot soldiers and reportedly by ninja. Kaginawa have several configurations, from one to four hooks. The hook would be attached to a rope of varyi ...

returning from ''Tsushima''. Atsu will also have to complete bounties to fund her journey and visit weapon sensei to learn new techniques. Developers have claimed that players will have more control over Atsu's narrative and choices compared to ''Ghost of Tsushima''.

Premise

''Ghost of Yōtei'' centers around the theme of "

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

vengeance". The story is set in the environs of

Mount Yōtei is an active stratovolcano located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is also called , "Ezo" being an old name for the island of Hokkaido, because it resembles Mount Fuji. The mountain is also known as . It is one of the 100 Fa ...

Ezo is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the people and the lands to the northeast of the Japanese island of Honshu. This included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 1869, Nu ...

(modern day

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) in 1603, 329 years after the events of ''Ghost of Tsushima''. Players will take control of Atsu (

Erika Ishii Erika Mari Ishii (born March 7, 1987) is an American voice actor and Television presenter, host. They are best known as the voice of video game characters such as Valkyrie in ''Apex Legends'', and for their appearances in actual play web series ...

Fairouz Ai is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress who is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. She played her first major role as Hibiki Sakura for the anime series ''How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?''. She also played Manatsu Natsuumi/Cure Sum ...

), a

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

who adopts the persona of the "

Onryō In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact Revenge, vengeance to "redres ...

" to exact revenge on the Yōtei Six, a group of masked outlaws known as the Snake, Ōni,

Kitsune The , in popular Japanese tradition, are foxes or fox spirits that possess supernatural abilities such as shapeshifting, and capable of bewitching people. General overview , though literally a 'fox', becomes in folklore a ' fox spirit', o ...

, Spider and Dragon who murdered her family and destroyed her home 16 years ago in 1587, with their leader Lord Saito pinning Atsu to a burning tree with her father's katana.

Development

''Ghost of Yōtei''s setting was inspired by

's multiple visits to northern Japan. Creative director Jason Connell was struck by the beauty of

. The development team recorded nature sounds at

Shiretoko National Park covers most of the Shiretoko Peninsula at the northeastern tip of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. The word "Shiretoko" is derived from an Ainu word "sir etok", meaning "the place where the earth protrudes". One of the most remote regions in ...

. Creative director Nate Fox wanted a sequel to ''Ghost of Tsushima'' to maintain its core elements: "transporting the player to the romance and beauty of

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

". Comparing to ''Ghost of Tsushima'', the studio wanted to make the game world of ''Yōtei'' more varied, with more unique activities for players to complete.

Release

''Ghost of Yōtei'' was officially revealed during

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

's State of Play presentation on September 24, 2024, and it was nominated for Most Anticipated Game at

the Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...

in November 2024. On April 23, 2025, it was announced that the game is scheduled to release for the

on October 2, 2025.

References

{{Sucker Punch Productions Upcoming video games scheduled for 2025 Action-adventure games Fiction set in 1603 Video games set in the 1600s Fiction set in 17th-century Sengoku period Open-world video games Japan in non-Japanese culture PlayStation 5 games PlayStation 5-only games Sengoku video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Sucker Punch Productions games Video games about ninja Video games about samurai Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in 17th-century Edo period Video games set in feudal Japan Video games set in Hokkaido Video games set on islands Single-player video games Video games about revenge