🚨 BOMBSHELL: Ghost of Yōtei launches to ZERO confirmed sales—despite Sony’s $60M gamble on a “woke” female ronin slashing through Hokkaido. 😤 Backlash explodes: “Antifa actress? DEI writers from Veilguard flops? This ain’t Tsushima—it’s corporate suicide!” Is the sequel DOA, or are hidden numbers saving face? The whispers from insiders could bury it forever. You buying the hype… or the boycott? Click to expose the truth. 👇
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Ghost of Yōtei, the long-awaited sequel to the 2020 smash Ghost of Tsushima, hit shelves on October 2, 2025, promising a fresh slice of feudal Japan amid snowy Hokkaido peaks. With a $60 million budget mirroring its predecessor, the game follows Atsu, a vengeful onna-musha (female warrior) hunting the “Yōtei Six” who slaughtered her family in 1603. Sucker Punch Productions hyped it as an evolution: enhanced combat blending katanas with early firearms, sprawling open-world exploration, and a narrative steeped in Ainu-inspired lore. Early reviews praised the visuals and duels, with Metacritic scores hovering at 89—edging out Tsushima’s 83. But beneath the haiku-scribing fox spirits and blistering boss fights, a storm brews. Accusations of “woke crap” have fueled boycott calls, spawning rumors of a catastrophic launch. Has the game’s push for diversity tanked it, or is this just online noise drowning out solid sales?
The controversy ignited long before launch. Ghost of Tsushima sold over 10 million copies worldwide, a surprise hit for a PS4 exclusive that captured samurai honor without pandering to modern tropes. It moved 2.4 million units in three days, blending precise swordplay with a morally complex story of Jin Sakai’s fall from bushido grace. Fans adored its restraint—no forced romance arcs or identity lectures, just raw vengeance against Mongol hordes. Enter Yōtei: a soft reboot ditching Jin for Atsu, voiced and motion-captured by Erika Ishii, a non-binary actor known for progressive activism. Ishii’s 2020 tweet declaring “I’m Antifa! So’s my wife!” resurfaced in July 2025, igniting right-wing fury. Critics branded her casting “DEI slop,” arguing it injected politics into a historically grounded tale. On X, @YellowFlashGuy amplified the post, captioning it: “The voice actor for PlayStation’s Ghost of Yōtei,” sparking thousands of shares and boycott pledges.
Worse came in September 2025, when Sucker Punch fired developer Drew Taylor for liking posts celebrating the assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk. Taylor’s social media history included pro-Palestine rants and anti-cop memes, but the Kirk post—liking a celebratory tweet—crossed a line for Sony execs. The left-leaning gaming press decried it as “caving to the far right,” with Kotaku’s headline blaring: “Sony Bends Knee to Bigots Over Ghost of Yōtei Firing.” Progressive devs on X called for their own boycott, tweeting: “Firing Drew for celebrating political violence? This is bending to MAGA terror.” Meanwhile, anti-woke voices like @Grummz piled on: “We ignored the woke hirings… but then it turns out, it was a woke infested, assassination loving, Antifa supporting, lesbian ending woke piece of slop.” The dual boycotts created a perfect storm, with pre-orders reportedly dipping 15% in the final week, per Circana analyst Mat Piscatella.
Then the writers: IMDb credits John Dombrow and Courtney Woods, fresh from BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard—a 2024 title slammed for “girlboss” overload and lore-bending inclusivity that sold under 2 million despite hype. Woods also penned Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s infamous animations and dialogue glitches, fueling fears Yōtei would swap Jin’s stoic arc for “empowering” lectures. Leaks suggested a “lesbian romance option” for Atsu, drawing “historical inaccuracy” barbs—onna-musha existed, but queer samurai tales? Stretching it for 1603 Hokkaido. @MightyKeef dismissed it: “They are upset that the lead actress is leftist… that’s it. Not the actual character.” But on Reddit’s r/KotakuInAction, threads exploded: “Wokeness killed the female villain—now it’s just sanitized empowerment.”
Launch week painted a muddled picture. No official Sony figures emerged by October 10, but rumors flew. A viral X post claimed 2 million units in four days, echoed by PlayStation China’s sales director Stephen Lin—until debunked as AI-generated fan art. Screen Rant called it “unreliable,” noting the image’s “bananas” watermark glitch. UK physical sales topped charts but plunged 40% from Tsushima’s debut, per GfK data—blamed on digital shifts, where 77% of Yōtei’s volume flowed, analysts estimated. In Japan, Famitsu logged 120,196 physical copies—top PS5 first-party launch since Gran Turismo 7, but a 43% drop from Tsushima’s 212,915. @GameDataLibrary tweeted: “A 43% drop… not bad given PS5 game sales.”
Global whispers hinted at trouble. That Park Place reported Sony scaling back Japanese ads after “disappointing trends,” citing an anonymous source: “They don’t want to lose money on a declining trajectory.” A 1.3 million first-day claim traced to a 9K-follower X account, unverified. Radio Times pegged revenue at $80-90 million from 1-1.5 million units at $70 a pop—profitable on dev costs alone, but marketing ate margins. GameRant countered: “2 million shipped, but only 25% sell-through—echoing Concord’s flop.” X lit up with schadenfreude: @SmashJT’s video “FAIL! Extreme Marketing Push Falls FLAT!” racked 1K likes, while @Pirat_Nation mocked: “Cooking the books with fake numbers.”
Defenders pushed back. FandomWire argued the “woke” label missed the mark: Atsu’s arc draws from onryō ghosts, not girlboss mandates, and sales topped PS Store charts pre-launch. Dexerto called outrage “beyond tiring”: “People freaking out about a female protagonist? It’s 2025.” r/ghostoftsushima users vented: “Why y’all tripping over a female role? Bad timing with the woke trend.” Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming told Game File in September: “Atsu honors onna-musha history—we’re not rewriting Japan.” Gameplay shines: Fluid gun-katana combos, dynamic weather affecting stealth, and Ainu side quests add cultural depth without preachiness.
Yet the “mega-flop” narrative stuck. YouTube’s “FLOP: Sales Down 40% From Tsushima” video hit 500K views, blaming “woke crap.” @mrphillipchan’s meme—”If Atsu looked like this [glamorous edit], it’d sell a million”—garnered 6K likes, underscoring design gripes. Broader industry woes amplified it: Sony’s live-service pivot flopped with Concord, and Veilguard‘s DEI backlash cost BioWare layoffs. @HubBandar warned: “Bring in woke writers… and you get a woke game.” Even r/MauLer queried: “Why call it woke? Female protagonist ain’t agenda.”
By week’s end, PSN trophies showed 1.2 million players—strong, but retention lagged Tsushima’s 70% Day 7 mark. Sony stayed mum, but insiders whispered course-correction: More Japanese devs for future exclusives if Yōtei falters, per That Park Place rumors. @AnimePowered canceled pre-orders over the Kirk fiasco: “Sick of left-wing violence.” @Theburningrune griped: “Certified woke dingbat mocap.”
Is it a flop? Physically, yes—40% down amid digital dominance. But at $80-140 million revenue, it likely breaks even, unlike Concord‘s $200 million sinkhole. The woke wars hurt buzz, but quality endures: IGN’s 9/10 lauded “Atsu’s fury feels earned, not engineered.” As DLC looms—rumored Jin cameo—Sucker Punch eyes redemption. For now, Yōtei haunts: A ghost of what could be, or proof boycotts bite. Sony’s next State of Play, November 2025, may spill real numbers. Until then, the blade hangs sharp.
