Ghost of Yotei studio head says the series likely won't ever head to "feudal Europe" or outside of Japan: "We believe the core of Ghost is someone wielding a katana"

Ghost of Yotei might be in the same series as Ghost of Tsushima, but there's hundreds of years and an entire cast's difference between them. So, what really makes this series a series? It's not Jin Sakai or violent revenge tales. According to developer Sucker Punch's studio head Brian Fleming, the core is amusingly "someone wielding a katana."

That doesn't quite mean the third game can have just anyone with a katana in, let's say, Botswana or Los Angeles and still don the Ghost title. "We believe the core of Ghost is someone wielding a katana, that's part of the essence," Fleming said in a media roundtable even attended by UnGeek.

"We can't imagine a Ghost game set in, say, feudal Europe," Fleming added. "That doesn't make sense. There are plenty of games set there, but that's not what a Ghost game is. For us, the natural beauty of Japan is part of the essence of a Ghost game. I gave this answer on stage [at Tokyo Game Show], and I think the fans in Japan, really appreciated that. That's the way we see it. It will always have that core, open-world katana adventure of some kind."

Just as the studio has in Ghost of Yotei, Fleming explains the team "may change time periods" and they "may explore different settings," but there are still definitely "some boundaries we probably won't cross." What those boundaries are... well, only time will tell as PlayStation inevitably pumps out more sequels to its hit open-world game.

Ghost of Yotei is reviewing 4 points higher than Ghost of Tsushima, but 2025 has been so amazing for games that it's barely top 20 for the year