Ghost of Yotei Part of an Effort by Sony to Transform the PlayStation Series Into a ‘Larger Entertainment Franchise’
Sony has big ambitions for Ghost of Yotei and indeed Sucker Punch’s Ghost franchise — it wants to expand the video game into movies, TV shows, and other spinoffs.
In an interview with the New York Times, Hermen Hulst, the chief executive of Sony’s studio business group, said expanding PlayStation franchises into other entertainment formats drives fans back to the original games, something it had seen first-hand with HBO’s hugely successful The Last of Us series.
“From a business perspective it makes a lot of sense,” Hulst said. “When a television series or movie comes out, people are inspired to play again or make friends to play.”
Ghost of Yotei, the sequel to PS4 game Ghost of Tsushima due out on PS5 in 2025, is described as the beginning of an official franchise that will include at least one movie and other spinoffs. The movie based on Ghost of Tsushima has been in the works for some time, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski at the helm.
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions announced the Ghost of Tsushima film in March 2021 and Stahelski said last year that it was “in heavy development.”
“I love the property, look, the game story of Jin Sakai, and it being what I would say is the most anti-samurai samurai movie out there because of the storylines, thematics in it, and the journey that Jin Sakai goes through,” he said.
Jin’s transition from an honorable samurai to disgraced Ghost of Tsushima, balancing his own pride with the survival of his people, is “so interesting,” Stahelski added. “The characters in the story are definitely something I don’t want to lose in any way.”
Stahelski has said previously he wants to do the film just right and have the cast and even the language be Japanese, something Sony is “so on board with.”
Sony has form when it comes to turning its PlayStation franchises into blockbuster movies and TV shows. Apart from the aforementioned The Last of Us HBO TV series, the Uncharted movie, starring Tom Holland, made about $400 million.
Also revealed in the New York Times article is that Ghost of Tsushima is now up to 13 million copies sold since going on sale in 2020, making it one of the most successful PlayStation Studios games ever.
Creative directors Nate Fox and Jason Connell said that for Ghost of Yotei, Sucker Punch wants to “find balance” against repetitive open-world gameplay and may offer story choices. The pair confirmed plans to let players master firearms in addition to melee weapons like the katana.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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