Ghost of Tsushima anime gets trailer teasing connection to game's multiplayer mode

Published Jul 10, 2026, 10:31 AM EDT

Details on the anime series are quite sparse, but the trailer’s YouTube description reads: “Ghost of Tsushima Legends follows one of the last remaining samurai as he defends his homeland of Tsushima against the Mongol Empire.” While this synopsis makes the anime sound like a direct adaptation of the game, which centers on Jin Sakai as he battles would-be conquerors, this isn't the case.

“Based on the PlayStation Game, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends,” the trailer reads. Legends is Ghost of Tsushima’s DLC multiplayer mode (which was later released as a standalone title) that is almost entirely disconnected from the game’s main plot. It has players choose from one of four classes — samurai, hunter, ronin, and assassin — as they battle supernatural enemies inspired by Japanese folklore. The three characters shown in the trailer represent three of those classes (hunter, ronin, and assassin), with the show's protagonist presumably taking up the role of samurai.

"Ghost of Tsushima’s rich, immersive world and its fantastical Legends mode based on Japanese mythology provide the perfect canvas for this project, and Aniplex is the perfect partner to translate Sucker Punch Productions’ hit video game into a stunning new anime series," said Asad Qizilbash, head of PlayStation Productions, in a statement when the show was announced.

As for the creatives involved, Kamikaze Douga, a studio best known for animating the Star Wars: Visions shorts “The Duel” and “The Duel: Payback,” will produce. “The Duel” director Takanobu Mizuno will helm the series. Perhaps the biggest name attached to the project is Gen Urobuchi, the writer behind acclaimed anime like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Psycho-Pass, Fate/Zero, Thunderbolt Fantasy, and more. He’s handling series composition and co-writing the script alongside Satoshi Maejima. Takashi Okazaki, best known for writing and illustrating Afro Samurai, will handle the character designs.

The anime was revealed in January 2025 and will be released exclusively on Crunchyroll (which makes sense, given that Sony owns the streamer). The original Ghost of Tsushima launched on PlayStation 4 in July 2020, with Ghost of Tsushima Legends following in October 2020. The game's sequel, Ghost of Yōtei, came out in 2025.