“Ghost of Tsushima” developer loves “SHOGUN” so much that he named his pet Toranaga | THE RIVER

“Ghost of Yōtei,'' a new version of the game “Ghost of Tsushima,'' which has gained explosive popularity by faithfully reproducing the world of Japanese historical dramas, is currently being prepared. This time, the setting is northern Japan in 1603. He wanders through the dangerous nature of Ezo, which was outside Japanese control at the time.

Speaking of period dramas, the US FX “Shogun'' became a hot topic after achieving a historic feat of winning 18 categories at the 76th Emmy Awards. While the world is paying attention to Japanese period dramas, Nate Fox, who served as the creative director for “Ghost of Tsushima,'' has also professed to be a big fan of “SHOGUN.'' According to the New York Times, he named his beloved Australian Labradoodle “Lord Torana” after Yoshii Toranaga, played by Hiroyuki Sanada in “SHOGUN.”

The new game “Ghost of Yōtei” is scheduled to be released in 2025 and is currently in development. In order to revisit the beautiful depiction of Japan that was praised in the previous work, the production team actually visited dozens of locations in northern Japan to conduct research. The theme of the story is said to be “the revenge of a loser.''

“One of the challenges with making open-world games is that they tend to be repetitive,” said Jason Connell, who works with Fox on the project. In the new Ghost of Yōtei, players will be able to control the story of the main character more than in the previous game, and will be able to use firearms as well as melee weapons like swords. “We wanted to find a more balanced and unique experience than the previous one,” Connell said.

Additionally, both Fox and Connell were featured in Ghost of Tsushima.In recognition of his achievements in increasing the popularity of Tsushima City in Nagasaki Prefecture worldwide, he has been officially appointed as a “Permanent Ambassador'' by the city.