Ghosts of Tsushima 2: The game's sequel and film adaptation plans explained

Titled Ghost of Yotei, the game is set to have a female protagonist

Ghost of Yotei is the sequel to the popular Ghost of Tsushima from 2020. Photo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

A trailer has been released to promote Ghost of Yotei, the highly anticipated sequel to popular samurai game Ghost of Tsushima.

Released in 2020, Ghost of Tsushima was one of the PlayStation 4’s last major releases before the arrival of the PlayStation 5. It is set on the island of Tsushima and focuses on the first Mongol invasion of Japan.

The format of the sequel is the same, switching the location to Yotei mountain in Hokkaido prefecture, the northernmost area of Japan. The new game is set to be released in 2025, but what does it mean for the new franchise, and what can players expect?

What is the Ghost of Tsushima?

Released in July 2020, Ghost of Tsushima became an instant hit with fans. The gameplay was praised for being technical and accurate, while the graphics were compared to some of Japanese cinema’s biggest samurai epics from directors like Akira Kurosawa and Masaki Kobayashi.

The environments in the game varied from burnt down villages to lush green plains with colourful flowers that moved vibrantly in the wind. The protagonist is Jin Sakai, a samurai who must avenge the death of his father and reclaim the island of Tsushima from the Mongol invaders.

Sucker Punch, the game’s developer, says Ghost of Tsushima has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide. It had eight nominations for the 2020 Game Awards and won two awards, for art direction and the player’s voice. The latter was voted for by fans.

A key theme in the game is vengeance, how blinding it can be, and its futility when not done for the right reasons. The game’s hero, Sakai, goes through a journey of self-discovery as he attempts to avenge the fallen spirit of his father and earn back the respect of the island’s citizens.

The game offers two key transformative options. The first is to play in Japanese with subtitles, which further enhanced the experience of watching a Japanese film in the cutscenes. The second is to activate a filter that switches visuals to black and white, offering the familiarity of samurai films by Kurosawa.

Is Ghost of Yotei a direct sequel and when does it release?

Ghost of Yotei is set in the year 1603, which is 329 years after the events of the first game, and takes the story to Yotei in Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture. With a female protagonist, the game follows Atsu, a capable warrior who exhibits the strength and prowess of a samurai. The trailer doesn’t reveal much more than the fact that revenge will be the main driver of the protagonist again.

Setting the game further in the future also means there will be the possibility of seeing guns, which arrived in the country in the 16th century. This would add a new dynamic, because in the original game the weapons of choice were swords as well as bows and arrows.

Ghost of Yotei is set for release in 2025 but no official date has been announced. If the release cycle of the first game is anything to go by, it will likely be on shelves by the summer of next year.

Will there be a Ghost of Tsushima film adaptation?

In 2021, PlayStation announced that a Ghost of Tsushima film was in the works from John Wick director Chad Stahelski, with the scriptwriting duties going to Takashi Doscher. There has been no concrete casting news since then, but Stahelski did say last year that the film is “in full development”.

In a New York Times interview, Hermen Hulst, chief executive of Sony's studio division, noted that expanding PlayStation franchises into different entertainment formats is drawing fans back to the original games. He highlighted this trend based on the experience with the hugely successful HBO series, The Last of Us, one of the most popular PlayStation franchises.