Sucker Punch’s upcoming Ghost of Yotei is already facing serious backlash, and now, new details have emerged that only add fuel to the fire. According to IMDb, the game’s writers include John Dumbrow and Courtney Woods—both of whom worked on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a game widely criticized for prioritizing identity politics over compelling storytelling.

With this revelation, concerns that Ghost of Yotei is shaping up to be another woke disaster have only intensified.

The controversy surrounding Ghost of Yotei began with its very first trailer, where fans quickly realized that instead of continuing the story of Jin Sakai, the beloved protagonist of Ghost of Tsushima, Sucker Punch had replaced him with a new female lead named Atsu. This abrupt shift in focus immediately raised red flags for gamers wary of yet another classic franchise being retooled for modern ideological messaging.

Erika Ishii on X

Making matters worse in the eyes of many fans, the game’s protagonist is played by Erika Ishii, a radical progressive activist known for outspoken comments on gender politics and for verbally attacking law enforcement. Ishii’s casting only strengthens the belief that Ghost of Yotei is being designed as a virtue-signaling “girl boss” narrative rather than a faithful successor to Ghost of Tsushima.

On top of that, Sucker Punch hired Thomas Hart as its new Community Manager in April 2024. Hart, formerly of Insomniac Games, has openly defended Sweet Baby Inc., the controversial consulting firm known for injecting divisive identity politics into games. Just a month before joining Sucker Punch, Hart dismissed concerns over Sweet Baby Inc.’s influence.

Thomas Hart on X

“This whole Sweet Baby controversy is mind numbingly dumb,” he said. “Most people have no idea how games are made or what a consultant does. Many don’t even care to listen when someone tries to explain it to them. They would much rather have an other to demonize.”

Beyond their involvement in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Dumbrow and Woods have worked on several games that were widely regarded as failures. Both were part of the teams behind Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, two titles infamous for lackluster storytelling and massive disappointments at launch.

An X post from Courtney Woods confirming her role in Sucker Punch

It’s important to note that both Ghost of Yotei writers have some successes under their belts. Woods’ track record also includes Star Wars: The Old Republic and Dragon Age: Inquisition, while Dumbrow previously worked on Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. These are all successful and widely regarded titles.

The LinkedIn Page for Jonathan Dombrow confirming his employment and involvement with Sucker Punch and Ghost of Yotei – Jonathan Dumbrow on LinkedIn

YouTuber Endymion has been reporting on Ghost of Yotei for months and recently revealed that the game was originally planned as Ghost of Tsushima 2 starring Jin Sakai. However, according to his sources, Sucker Punch decided to pivot and replace Jin with Atsu, fundamentally altering the game’s story and direction.

“As I was told before when I reported on Yotei last, the game was indeed supposed to be Ghost of Tsushima 2 with Jin Sakai as the main character,” Endymion said. “This has been confirmed to me by at least two sources. And I was told the skeleton of Tsushima 2 is what is largely being used to create Yotei into what it is now.”

He went on to explain how the game’s narrative was completely gutted to remove Jin Sakai as the protagonist and repurpose the game into a female-led story instead.

“The entire narrative was effectively gutted from what I’m being told and repurposed into the story about Atsu, now, as you’ve seen in the new trailer,” he noted. “The whole wandering Ronin being hunted by other bounty hunters that’s presented in Yotei, I am assuming was originally supposed to be Ronin hunting Jin Sakai as the Ghost.”

A screenshot from Ghost of Yōtei (2025), Sucker Punch

If true, this would mean that Ghost of Yotei is little more than a forced rebranding of what was supposed to be Ghost of Tsushima 2—another example of a beloved franchise being hijacked for modern ideological messaging.

With a progressive activist as the lead actress, two woke writers fresh off Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s disaster, and a former Sweet Baby Inc. defender as Community Manager, Ghost of Yotei is looking more and more like another case of a classic franchise being retooled to fit modern identity politics.

What could have been an incredible sequel following Jin Sakai’s journey could become yet another in a long line of “girl boss” games, with the industry once again pushing male protagonists aside to replace them with female leads in the name of so-called “progress.”

A screenshot from Ghost of Yōtei (2025), Sucker Punch

For fans who were hoping for a true successor to Ghost of Tsushima, the writing may already be on the wall.

Do you think these Ghost of Yotei writers will bring the divisiveness of Veilguard to Sucker Punch? Sound off in the comments and let us know!