Sometimes the best marketing ideas come from exactly the places you wouldn’t have thought of in the first place. Sucker Punch revealed that Ghost of Yotei – the much-anticipated follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima – is partnering with one of Japan’s biggest beer brands.
It all started because of a joke about a six-pack. This wasn’t just some throwaway joke either, and it seems, like this one in particular, had a cool and unexpected outcome.
The outcome being, that limited-edition Sapporo beer bottles will feature some of the game’s artwork, along with some cross-marketing events in Japan, just before the Ghost of Yotei release date on October 2.
Ghost of Yotei Beer
So, what was the joke that we were talking about?
The story goes back to a dev chat, where someone joked about a “Ghost of Yotei Six-Pack”. Naturally, fans did what fans do best – and that’s playing devil’s advocate. This time around, they created memes, and even mock-up beer labels.
Instead of letting the joke be just that, Sucker Punch took the chance and now it turned into a fully fledged tie-in with a major Japanese brewery. It’s proof that the developers are at least paying attention to their anticipating fan base.
A Lighthearted Boost for a Serious Game
Ghost of Yotei is shaping up to be one of Sony’s biggest prestige titles of 2025, with heavy focus on cinematic storytelling and historical detail, much like the previous title did.
The beer partnership offers a lighter, more playful counterbalance to the otherwise serious tone of the game, something the fans surely didn’t expect, and no doubt Sucker Punch did either. It shows that even the most dramatic titles can have fun with their community.
True, the whole “Yotei Six-Pack” thing may have started as a laugh, but it’s now a clever way to keep the game in the spotlight. Between the gorgeous art and the unusual collaboration, Ghost of Yotei has found a way to make samurai and beer go hand in hand.
