Ghost of Yotei Surges to Match Ghost of Tsushima's US Sales Pace, Analyst Says
Ghost of Yotei storms out of the gate, turning its first month into a breakout run and cementing its status as a buzzy new release.
Ghost of Yotei was always going to sell well. It is the sequel to a fan favorite and a really good action-adventure in its own right. The interesting part is the scale of it, and how it stacks up to Ghost of Tsushima out of the gate.
The week-one picture
Mat Piscatella, senior director at market-watcher Circana, says week-one U.S. sales for Ghost of Yotei were essentially a carbon copy of Tsushima’s launch. He posted the update on Bluesky and did not hedge much.
"With one week in market, the US sales performance of Ghost of Yotei was basically flat to that of Ghost of Tsushima. It did great."
In other words: virtually identical first-week performance between the two games in the U.S.
Why that is a big deal
Sequels usually open bigger than the first game. Tsushima, though, had some very specific tailwinds back in 2020 that Yotei does not. That makes Yotei keeping pace surprisingly strong:
- Tsushima launched during lockdowns, when game time (and spending) was spiking.
- It was $10 cheaper on PlayStation 4.
- PS4’s install base was much larger than PS5’s is now.
So for Yotei to match Tsushima’s U.S. week one despite all that means the audience showed up. Basically the entire original fanbase returned in the first seven days.
What Sucker Punch changed (and kept)
Yotei largely delivers the same strengths: the open-world wandering, the striking art direction, and the crisp swordplay. The twist is the perspective. Sucker Punch jumps the story forward by decades with a new lead instead of Jin. Moving away from him could have been a problem; clearly, it was not.
The game hit on October 6 and feels set up to keep selling straight through the holidays. Credit the immaculate presentation and the engrossing story, sure. If you want to blame the lo-fi beats soundtrack for half the goodwill, I will not argue; it is extremely easy to vibe out in later-era Japan.
And yes, the hot springs return. Predictably, a new round of bathing commentary has begun, including one opinion I am not going to fight: 'Jin's butt is still unsurpassed.'