‘It Saddened Me The Day That I Had To Kill That’ Ghost of Yotei Cut Down One Major Feature Prior to Release

Sucker Punch creative director Jason Connell discusses the difficult decision to scale back one major storytelling feature in Ghost of Yotei, but was ultimately the correct call to make. It’s been a strong launch window for Ghost of Yotei, a game which saw praise from critics, positive word of mouth from players, and strong sales to back it all up.

After launching in early October 2025, Ghost of Yotei debuted to very strong sales after originally dominating the preorder sales charts for PlayStation. The game was able to make back its development budget twice over, even if Yotei was initially tracking slightly behind its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. With more content planned down the road, new details surrounding the development process of Ghost of Yotei have started to come out, including a tough decision that had to be made early on.

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Ghost of Yotei Scaled Back Ambitious Storytelling Plans

In a dual interview with Vince Gilligan, the creator of popular shows like Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Pluribus, Sucker Punch’s Jason Connell talked about some initial plans for Ghost of Yotei. Initially, Connell wanted to push the meditation storytelling mechanic in Ghost of Yotei, which allowed players to experience a moment in time from Atsu’s past. According to Connell, the original idea was to use it everywhere, with players experiencing the dark “lone wolf” quest and then instantly switch to the past to not only feel a bit more warmth but to have a better understanding of the cause that Atsu is fighting for.

While initially pitched as a sort of “stake-in-the-ground” feature, the mechanic was cut back after about a year when the studio realized the amount of art required would double. After tough decisions with feedback and colleagues at the studio, Connell made the call to narrow it down, only using it in certain locations, such as Atsu’s childhood home in Ghost of Yotei. While Connell admits that “it saddened me the day that I had to kill that and narrow it,” he also believes it was the right choice overall.

So while it’s this amazing feature, it saddened me the day that I had to kill that and narrow it. But in the end, it was the right choice.

Gilligan likens the decision to fast food, specifically to the amount of salt on french fries, where getting that right balance can be delicate, with too much ruining the end product. Looking back, Connell speculates that had they stuck to the original plan the way he wanted, it could have potentially been viewed more as a gimmick, especially if Sucker Punch wasn’t able to back it up with content to make it worthwhile.

So, while some things perhaps didn’t go to plan the way Jason Connell initially envisioned, it seems the final version of the game came out stronger for the change. Another element that is seeing an evolution of sorts is the fan favorite Legends multiplayer mode coming to Ghost of Yotei in 2026. While Sucker Punch hasn’t provided all the details yet, the free DLC add-on will have two-player co-op missions and four-player survival matches centered around giant demonic versions of the Yotei Six.

Systems

Released

October 2, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Use of Alcohol

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

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Source: YouTube