Ghost of Yotei merch may be the secret to boosting tourism in a real Japanese ski restort

Niseko might not get much tourism in the summer, but the ski resort could change that with a Ghost of Yotei tie-in.
Text: Alex Hopley
Published 2026-07-05

The Yotei region of Hokkaido isn't just created for Sucker Punch's 2025 sequel, as you probably know already. It's a real place, and one that could be getting a tourism boost thanks to the game's popularity. At least, the skiing town of Niseko is hoping it can boost the number of visitors arriving in summer, as it has entered into an agreement with Sony to create a line of Ghost of Yotei items.

According to Japanese outlet Nikkei (via GamesRadar), the first lot of items is a set of wooden knick-knacks. Pin badges and other items will be available too, emblazoned with symbols from the game. We'd imagine these items will be exclusive to the resort town, as that'll then result in a good deal of FOMO from people unable to travel over and grab a knick-knack for themselves.

Right now, Niseko sees a boom in tourism in the winter, but in summer even its most luxurious hotels can come it at quite a bargain. This could change in time, but it's yet to be seen how far fans will travel for exclusive Ghost of Yotei merch. We know that games and tourism have blended before. Black Myth: Wukong was a huge drive for Chinese tourism, for example, with a campaign linked to locations in the game being shown in real life.

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