Ghost of Yotei’s co-creative director recently discussed how developer Sucker Punch Productions readied the team to represent the game’s Ainu culture respectfully, which involved an important trip to Japan. Ghost of Yotei is a standalone sequel to the hit 2020 predecessor Ghost of Tsushima, slated to be released on October 2, 2025. After speculation for years, the project was officially revealed during PlayStation’s State of Play back in September 2024.
Ghost of Yotei’s ESRB rating has been revealed, and it teases further gameplay details to look forward to in addition to the central premise that will see the ronin Atsu become an Onryo to seek revenge on the Yotei Six, a group of outlaws who murdered her family. Players can also expect more picturesque scenery to get lost in during open-world exploration, and the return of engaging melee combat using traditional Japanese weapons.
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Shared in a PlayStation blog post, co-creative director, Nate Fox, outlined the Sucker Punch team’s trip to Japan while developing Ghost of Yotei. The director revealed that to represent the game’s Ainu culture - an indigenous ethnic group residing in northern Japan - in a respectful way, the team connected with an Ainu cultural adviser and spent time with her family. “All of us from Sucker Punch stopped taking pictures and got our hands dirty,” Fox reflected, referring to the team’s foraging for vegetables, and this experience inspired the devs to put foraging in the game. Fox previously revealed why Sucker Punch chose Ghost of Yotei’s Hokkaido setting, noting the location mirrored the beauty and also danger present in the game, even though their version of Hokkaido is fictional.
Sucker Punch Spent Time With an Advisor to Represent Ghost of Yotei's Ainu Culture Respectfully
Despite the concerted effort made by the dev team to be culturally respectful, some gamers think Ghost of Yotei not technically being set in Japan may open the floodgates, considering Hokkaido wasn't annexed by Japan until 1869. However, Sucker Punch’s time spent with the Ainu cultural advisor, exploring the Nibutani Ainu Museum, and also diving into the lives of the Matsuamae clan are positive steps in the game’s creation process.
Since gamers are still quite a bit away from launch day, Ghost of Yotei fans have something special to look forward to in July that will bide their time. A special State of Play presentation is scheduled to offer a deeper look into the upcoming game and share details and footage on exploration, combat, and new gameplay systems. Ghost of Yotei’ s pre-orders are already open to the public, selling the Standard, Digital Deluxe, and Collector's Edition of the title, and if players weren’t convinced before to reserve their copy, the State of Play surely will.
Ghost of Yotei
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- 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
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
