Ghostwire: Tokyo is apparently getting a sequel (and is definitely more popular than you thought)
PlayGhostwire's social media account celebrated 6 million players, days before Bethesda leaks teased a sequel.
Ghostwire: Tokyo may have met with a muted reception when it launched last year, but that hasn't stopped 6 million players from venturing out into the haunted streets of Shibuya to shoot some spooks with their finger-guns. This is according to a recent post on the playGhostwire Twitter account, which on Friday released a piece of special celebratory artwork to commemorate the milestone:
Ghostwire's accepted status as a solid 7/10 game might have a lot to do with the fact that it launched just a month after Elden Ring, but it nevertheless gained a devoted fanbase among players on PC and PS5. However, that 6 million player count surely owes a lot to its launch on Xbox Series X/S this April, after its year of Sony console exclusivity ended. The anniversary update released at the same time included a hefty bit of free DLC handed out to players across all platforms, but it was probably the fact that it was a Game Pass title from day one on Xbox that convinced so many players to give it a go.
If this unexpected bit of news had you thinking that maybe there'd be a Ghostwire sequel in the works, you'd be right — and seeming confirmation came from an unexpected source mere days later. Last night a Microsoft document outlining Bethesda's planned release schedule for the years 2020-24 was leaked online; among the as-yet-unannounced titles on the roster were Dishonored 3, DOOM Year Zero, and — yes — a Ghostwire: Tokyo sequel pencilled in for a release in 2024.
It's worth noting, though, that the proposed follow-up doesn't even have a title beyond "sequel"; and of course, internal documents like this aren't intended as marketing materials, and shouldn't be taken as firm confirmation that every game listed will really be announced someday. Also, the whole list is clearly somewhat out-of-date: it places the original Ghostwire as releasing in 2021, when as we all know it didn't end up materialising until March 2022. Other now-released titles on the leaked docket are similarly out of synch with reality, suggesting that this might well be a pre-pandemic best-case-scenario for Bethesda.
So if that Ghostwire sequel is indeed in the works — and it seems like there's reason to hope that it is, especially given the first game's healthy player count — realistically we're probably looking at a 2025-6 release at the earliest. Still, it's hard to deny that it's been a week of hopeful and exciting news for Ghostwire: Tokyo fans; and since it was my personal favourite game of 2022, I very much count myself among the excited hopeful, even if I do always recommend taking leaks with a generous pinch of salt.