Jin must choose between following the warrior code to fight honorably, or using practical but dishonorable methods of repelling the Mongols with minimal casualties. The game features a large open world which can be explored either on foot or on horseback. When facing enemies, the player can choose to engage in a direct confrontation using Jin's katana or to become a legendary warrior known as "the Ghost" by using stealth tactics to assassinate opponents.
Sucker Punch began developing the game in 2014 with a heavy emphasis on melee combat. The studio collaborated with Japan Studio and visited Tsushima Island twice to ensure that the game was as culturally and historically authentic as possible. The team was heavily inspired by samurai cinema, particularly films directed by Kurosawa Akira , as well as the comic book series Usagi Yojimbo. The game's landscape and minimalistic art style were influenced by Shadow of the Colossus, and locations in the game were designed to be "the perfect photographer's dream". While the in-game landmass is similar in shape to Tsushima Island , the team did not intend to create a one-to-one recreation. Ilan Eshkeri and Umebayashi Shigeru composed the game's soundtrack.
The game was released for PlayStation 4 in July 2020, and an expanded version for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, subtitled Director's Cut and featuring the Iki Island expansion, was released in August 2021. A multiplayer mode titled Ghost of Tsushima: Legends was released in October 2020 and made available separately in September 2021.
The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the game's melee combat, story, characters, performances, and music, though it received some criticism for its implementations of stealth gameplay and open world structure. The game was a commercial success, selling more than 9.73 million copies by July 2022 and was one of Sony's fastest-selling original games. It was nominated for several end-of-the-year awards, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2020 and 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. A film adaptation is in development as of 2022.
