Aniplex and Crunchyroll have released a “character art” teaser trailer for the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime. The show is confirmed to premiere on Crunchyroll in 2027. It adapts Sucker Punch Productions‘s PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima, following one of the last surviving samurai as he defends his homeland against the Mongol Empire.
The teaser arrived in two versions: an English-language cut and a Japanese-language cut, both built around new character artwork rather than animated footage. Crunchyroll has not set a release window beyond the 2027 premiere. No voice cast has been announced yet.
Aniplex is the anime production and licensing arm of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It has backed major franchise adaptations in recent years, including Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Sword Art Online. This project adds a Western-developed PlayStation game to that slate. It follows a broader push by Sony-affiliated studios to option first-party game franchises for anime and live-action projects, rather than relying only on manga and light novel sources.
Who’s working on the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends anime
Takanobu Mizuno is directing the adaptation, with HAYATE Inc. overseeing production. The script comes from Satoshi Maejima and Gen Urobuchi, both of NITRO PLUS, with Urobuchi also handling story composition. Takashi Okazaki is providing character designs, and KAMIKAZE DOUGA is producing the animation.
Urobuchi’s involvement stands out. He has a history writing dark, war-driven stories like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero, a tone that fits a story of occupation and resistance. Okazaki, known for his character work on Afro Samurai, brings a similar background in stylized period combat to the designs. Between them, the creative team pairs a writer built for grim wartime drama with an artist built for kinetic swordplay.
Why the anime is drawing on the co-op spinoff
Ghost of Tsushima launched for PlayStation 4 in July 2020, developed by Sucker Punch Productions. Its multiplayer spinoff began as a free cooperative mode later that year, then expanded into a standalone release. Players can pick from four classes, Samurai, Hunter, Assassin, and Ronin, to defend the island alongside three other players in raids and survival missions. The anime takes its title and setting from that co-op mode rather than the base game’s single-player campaign, though the teaser’s imagery leans on the same conflict between the island’s defenders and the invading Mongol Empire.
That choice is notable. Most game-to-anime adaptations lean on a franchise’s main story. Aniplex and Crunchyroll are instead building this series around a multiplayer side mode, not a single protagonist’s arc. The character art teaser does not confirm whether the anime will follow an original cast of samurai or adapt figures already seen in the games. It also leaves open how closely the story will track the co-op mode’s mission structure, versus telling something closer to a conventional narrative.
No cast or additional staff beyond the credited creative team have been announced. Crunchyroll says further details on the project, including casting and a firmer release date, will follow as the 2027 premiere approaches.