Coins on the Table
Sucker Punch balanced Ghost of Yotei’s competitive coin-flicking by putting the game’s own coins on a real table. The studio used the bag of coins from the Collector’s Edition to prototype rules for Zeni Hajiki PvP in Legends, the new free co-op mode.
“PvP Zeni Hajiki was always an idea we were interested in,” senior staff designer and Legends lead Darren Bridges told Kotaku. “But based on the fan response after the game launched, we knew it was a good investment. There was also strong advocacy within the studio – we did our PvP rule playtesting using real coins on a real table!”
When asked why the team went analog, Bridges said they chase the “absolute fastest way” to validate an idea. “Generally, this means creating simple, unpolished content to test it out in-game,” he explained. “But Zeni Hajiki is one of the few examples where we could try out new rules without writing a single line of code!”
Convenience helped. “Ghost of Yotei’s Collector’s Edition includes a bag of coins that are made for playing the game, so it was probably the most efficient prototyping experience in the company’s history,” Bridges said.
Why Zeni Hajiki Made the Cut
Legends was always on the roadmap for the open-world PS5 exclusive RPG, but the studio pushed coin-flicking into the lobby after seeing how much players latched onto it in single-player. The mode’s hub isn’t just a gear pit stop; it’s a place to cool down between missions with quick competitions. Alongside Zeni Hajiki, you can, for example, race through bamboo chopping.
That mix of downtime and bite-size rivalry came straight from the team’s experience on Ghost of Tsushima’s Legends. Watching how groups actually play co-op taught Sucker Punch that short activities help friends stay engaged while they regroup, swap builds, or plan the next run.
No Duels in the Dojo
Some fans want the lobby to go a step further with one-on-one duels. Bridges didn’t mince words on that request: Ghost of Yotei’s combat is built “specifically for PvE,” which makes full-on versus fights a poor fit. Co-op, not dueling, remains the focus for Legends.
That stance might disappoint the sibling rivals out there, but it tracks with the studio’s design goals. Zeni Hajiki and other lobby activities scratch the competitive itch without upending a combat system tuned for cooperating against enemies, not countering human opponents.
Legends’ Development and What’s Next
Legends started early in Yotei’s development, with a small core team building the foundation while the main game took shape. As departments wrapped their single-player work, more developers shifted over to finish the online mode. “Ghost of Tsushima: Legends was our first real online co-op project as a studio, and the fan response was very positive, so we wanted to do it again! Ghost of Yotei brought new opportunities for Legends adaptation, including the new weapon systems and massive monstrous versions of the Yōtei Six,” Bridges said.
Sucker Punch didn’t attach a price tag to any of it. “Just like with Ghost of Tsushima, we were happy to offer Legends as a free DLC for all Ghost of Yotei owners, with no microtransactions,” Bridges said. That keeps the co-op scene healthy and lowers the barrier for friends to jump in together.
The shift to Legends also gave artists and designers a change of pace. “We all love the beauty in the grounded world of Yotei, but it’s creatively refreshing for the designers and artists to tackle the Legends locations and characters,” Bridges explained. “The fantastical setting provides a great foundation for building co-op-focused mechanics, and enemies that are worthy challenges for multiple players.”
This approach fits a pattern at the studio. From Infamous spin-offs to Tsushima’s Legends, Sucker Punch has a habit of expanding its games with thoughtful side modes. “When we started building Ghost of Tsushima a decade ago,” Bridges said, “we knew we wanted to include cooperative content. Fighting side by side with your friends is a natural fit for the core fantasy of being a samurai. Developing Legends allowed us to expand our skillset as a studio, and to offer players a fantastical cooperative experience as a complement to Atsu’s journey in the single-player campaign.”
Sony and Sucker Punch declined to discuss multiplayer in future projects, but the studio’s quick, coin-on-the-table prototyping says a lot about how it iterates. If simple tools keep producing fan-favorite ideas, expect Legends’ lobby—part social space, part mini-arcade—to keep growing wherever the series heads next.
