Ghost of Yotei, a far-flung follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima and the latest open-world samurai adventure from developer Sucker Punch, was the closing act at tonight's PlayStation State of Play live show. It launches in 2025 on PS5.
The announcement trailer description reads: "In 1603, a new Ghost named Atsu sets out on a journey in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei, an area filled with sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers."
Mount Yotei is located in what's now Hokkaido, Japan. As a reminder, Ghost of Tsushima took place on Japan's Tsushima Island in 1274. Atsu will notably be the now-series' first female lead.
In a PlayStation blog post, Sucker Punch communications manager Andew Goldfarb writes:
"Our story is set in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei, a towering peak in the heart of Ezo, an area of Japan known as Hokkaido in present day ... It’s a far cry from the organized samurai clans who lived in Tsushima, and it’s the setting for an original story we can’t wait to tell."
Goldfarb notes that "this is also Sucker Punch’s first game built from the ground up for PlayStation 5," promising "massive sightlines" as well as "even more believable movement" in environmental features like plants.
"When we set out to make a new Ghost game, we wanted to maintain the core pillars established in Ghost of Tsushima: playing as a wandering warrior in Feudal Japan, offering freedom to explore at your own pace, and highlighting the beauty of the world," he says. Naturally, a new story and setting brings "new mechanics, gameplay improvements, and even new weapons," seemingly including the dual swords Atsu brandishes in the trailer.
A rumored Ghost of Tsushima sequel which we now know to be a standalone follow-up has been in the works for many years, as evidenced by multiple Sucker Punch job posts. A 2025 release date, even if that ends up being fall or winter 2025, is a relatively quick turnaround from today's reveal. As quickly as its second anniversary, Ghost of Tsushima had sold over 10 million copies.
