Ghost of Yotei: Phantom Sales and the Manufactured Hype
When Ghost of Yotei launched, Suckerpunch and Sony’s marketing machine kicked into overdrive – gaming media proudly claimed that the game sold 1.3 million copies on day one, just barely edging out Ghost of Tsushima’s first-day numbers.
On paper, that sounds impressive.
But when you start digging into the numbers…something doesn’t quite add up. This isn’t about conspiracy theories or wild speculation. The facts themselves are suspicious enough to raise eyebrows.
Between the supposed “insider” tweet that started the fire, the exaggerated praise from certain journalists, and the eerily consistent talking points across major outlets, it all feels like another case of what I like to call the Manufactured Hype Virus.
The Phantom Sales Begin
The story starts with a tweet from an account named Millie A (@millieamand). The post claimed, “Hearing, 1.3 million sold on first day for Yotei. Ever so slightly ahead of Tsushima’s first 24 hours of 1.25 million.”
Hearing, 1.3 million sold on first day for Yōtei. Ever so slightly ahead of Tsushima’s first 24 hours of 1.25 million.
— Millie A (@millieamand) October 3, 2025
Tsushima kept pace on its second day with another 1.15 million sold. Can Yōtei keep up?
Within hours, gaming media pounced on it. Headlines everywhere declared Ghost of Yotei a record-breaking success, with glowing comparisons to Tsushima and God of War.
The problem is…that tweet didn’t come from any verified insider. It came from someone who, according to journalist Jason Schreier himself, is a “fake account.” He confirmed this two months ago in a Reddit comment under a GTA 6 leak post, linking directly to the same X account in question.
So, to recap: one unverified tweet from a fake insider (who, if you look on their X account, is basically doing nothing but glazing Sony 24/7) sparked a wave of articles reporting “record-breaking” sales, all before Sony ever confirmed a single number.
Here are just a few of of the publications that come into question for citing Millie A for reference:
Convenient, right?
But Where’s the Data?
If Ghost of Yotei really sold 1.3 million copies in a single day, we should see signs of that across the ecosystem.
I had forgot to cancel my preorder and I got an email from BestBuy saying it was delayed on Day 1. They said the shipment wasn't coming in until the next day. Wonder if this happened in many places and they lost out on a shit ton of sales because of it. https://t.co/JqOtBxpJPb
— Vara Dark (@Vara_Dark) October 5, 2025
PSNProfiles, for example, tracks public trophy data for PlayStation games across users of their site and according to their data, the number of players who even started the game was nowhere near what would match that 1.3 million figure in the early launch window, only reporting less than 19,000 gamers owning the game on their site, less than 2% of the reported sales numbers.
Now, PSNProfiles doesn’t capture every player.
It’s a sample size, sure. But historically, it’s been a reliable indicator of scale, and the math simply doesn’t support the media’s narrative, in my opinion at least.
Even accounting for statistical variance, those numbers look inflated.
Meanwhile, critics and journalists were pushing near-perfect reviews within 24 hours of release. Many of those reviews read more like PR handouts than genuine critiques, praising the “cultural authenticity” and “emotional depth” while ignoring obvious flaws in pacing, gameplay, and technical polish, often being compared (to its detriment) to other games like Red Dead Redemption 2 by players.
The Manufactured Hype Virus
What’s happening here isn’t new.
It’s the same pattern we’ve seen with games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. These titles launch with massive marketing hype, bolstered by influencer buzz and glowing pre-release coverage.
Then, once players actually get their hands on the game, the cracks start to show.
Image: Jason-Schreier Tries to “Own the Chuds” Before Dragon Age: The Veilguard Fallout | Source: That Park Place
In Yotei’s case though, the cracks are more like canyons.
The story feels like a rejected anime script, and the combat, while flashy, leans so hard into “cinematic experience” that it simply forgets to be fun. Then there’s Onryo’s Howl, the much-memed “scream attack” that somehow made it through design approval.
Because apparently, what samurai really needed all along was the power of yelling. I can’t stop thinking that Onryo’s Howl would have been sooo much better if they named it Collective Shout instead.
It’s hard not to laugh at how tonally inconsistent the game looks. One minute, you’re sneaking through a serene bamboo forest, and the next, your protagonist is screaming her lungs out to stagger enemies like she’s auditioning for Dustborn 2: Electric Boogaloo.
It’s the kind of design decision that screams “focus group panic.”
A Convenient Echo Chamber
Sony’s PR apparatus knows exactly how to amplify these narratives. They rely on a network of friendly media outlets and social accounts to push early “success” stories.
Once those headlines circulate, perception becomes reality.
They want gamers to see “record-breaking sales” and start assuming the game must be great, even if the player base actually tells a different story.
We saw this same phenomenon during the Dragon Age: The Veilguard fiasco. Reviewers gushed about “diversity and representation,” while players flooded Metacritic with low user scores. The same pattern is emerging here. Critics are calling Ghost of Yotei a “masterpiece,” while community sentiment is split between mild disappointment and outright frustration.
Ghost of Yotei (2025) vs Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
— GTA 6 Countdown ⏳ (@GTAVI_Countdown) October 4, 2025
Rockstar Games is still the master of open-world titles. pic.twitter.com/ImWoobipri
To be fair, Yotei isn’t an unplayable disaster. It’s a competent, visually…fine experience with some memorable moments.
But the disconnect between what’s being sold and what’s actually delivered is massive. And when you see fake insider accounts, missing data, and recycled talking points, the narrative starts to look less like a coincidence and more like a coordinated campaign.
Pattern Recognition
At this point, it’s hard not to notice how these cycles repeat. A mysterious “leak” appears, the gaming press runs with it, and Sony stays conveniently silent until the positive buzz hits critical mass.
It’s the PR equivalent of insider trading, except instead of stocks, they’re pumping hype.
And when the dust settles, they quietly shift focus to the next big release, leaving players to argue online about whether the critics were “paid off”, shilling because they’re ideologically aligned, or simply just delusional.
Gamers have long memories, though.
The same kind of artificial hype inflated Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Concord, and The Veilguard, and look how those turned out.
The playbook hasn’t changed – only the titles have.
Transparency or Trust Issues
At the end of the day, Ghost of Yotei’s “phantom sales” story isn’t just about one game.
It’s about how easily perception can be manipulated in the gaming industry. When data doesn’t match the narrative, and when fake accounts can spark full-blown news cycles, players deserve better transparency.
If Sony’s claims are legitimate, then show the receipts and put the rumors to bed.
Until then, all we have are numbers that don’t add up and a suspiciously familiar pattern of PR spin.
So maybe Ghost of Yotei really did sell 1.3 million copies in a single day. Or maybe those sales are as…spectral as the name suggests. Either way, it’s time for players to start questioning what’s real and what’s just another marketing ghost story in the age of manufactured hype.
This was a commentary article based on publicly available information and personal opinion. Readers are encouraged to form their own conclusions based on the sources cited.
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Felix
October 6, 2025
Never heard of this site before but I love it so keep up the good work and ill be back
Ayefkay
October 6, 2025
Hey Felix, thanks for dropping by and for the kind words! It’s definitely a smaller website that I just do for funsies, but it’s always awesome when someone appreciates the stuff I make so truly thanks and I hope you come back soon!
Wack a Mole
October 6, 2025
I started GoY wasn’t impressed and refunded.
Ayefkay
October 7, 2025
Hi Whack a Mole, refunding on PlayStation vs. Steam is always a pain in the ass, so I guess that speaks to how much you didn’t like it lol. Thanks for stopping by!