Why Are People Calling 'Ghost of Yotei' A 'Woke' And 'DEI' Game? The Ghost Of Tsushima 2 Woke Drama Explained

Sony has just announced Ghost of Yotei at the PlayStation State of Play event, a much-anticipated sequel to the 2020 action-adventure stealth video game Ghost of Tsushima.

To the surprise of almost none, the game's announcement was met with an array of angry gamers criticizing both the female protagonist character Atsu and her voice actor Erika Ishii, calling the sequel woke" and a DEI" product.

The so-called "anti-woke" gamers had also previously targeted Assassin's Creed Shadows, a Japanese historical game featuring a female ninja expected to release in 2025.

Let's try to understand the Ghost of Yotei wokeness drama and why women taking on "stronger roles" in video games infuriates parts of the gaming community to the point of harassing and attacking people involved in the development of these games.

What Is 'Ghost of Yotei'?

Also called Ghost of Tsushima 2, Sucker Punch Productions' new game Ghost of Yotei will follow a female samurai protagonist known as Atsu in the area of Mount Yōtei, Japan. The sequel will take place in 1603, over 300 years after the history of Jin Sakai, the previous "Ghost" of the series. Ghost of Yotei is expected to be released for PS5 in 2025.

Why Are People Calling 'Ghost of Yotei' A 'Woke' And 'DEI' Game?

Immediately after the trailer for Ghost of Yotei was posted online, a wave of excited fans celebrated the upcoming sequel and theories about the backstory of the new protagonist Atsu. However, not all comments were positive, some fans started to criticize the sequel's woman samurai character, calling the game "woke" and "DEI," which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a phrase used to describe organizational frameworks that promote equality and diversity.

For example, X user @EndymionYT criticized the Japanese woman samurai as the new protagonist, writing that [gaming] companies "can’t help themselves until every franchise that was built on masculinity is replaced by women."

Although the critics and attacks against the new protagonist were sparse and few, it has become a trending topic on social media, winding up the subject of jokes and memes. For instance, Reddit user /u/alcatrazcgp posted a meme mocking people who call the upcoming game "woke," pointing out the only main "difference" between Ghost of Yotei and Ghost of Tsushima so far is the gender of the protagonists.

Why Are Some Gamers Attacking 'Ghost of Yotei's' Voice Actor Erika Ishii?

The "anti-woke" gamers less thrilled about the game’s new female protagonist, Atsu, were also targeting the character's voice actor Erika Ishii, calling her "woke and unhinged," as YouTube user @6bE described the actress in his video thumbnail.

Erika, however, thanked the warm reception from most of the Ghost of Tsushima fandom and went on a "cleaning" frenzy blocking people on X, former Twitter, who were attacking her. X user @airbagged edited some of the screenshots of people blocked by the voice actor along with the "Trash Blocked" text.

For the full history of 'Ghost of Yotei,' be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.