The Main Events of the Weekend (September 20-21)

Sales of No, I’m not a Human have exceeded 100,000 copies, the development of Ghost of Yōtei cost about the same as the development of Ghost of Tsushima, and Microsoft has decided to raise console prices in the US—here’s a recap of the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

• The Russian studio Trioskaz announced that the horror game No, I’m not a Human sold over 100,000 copies. This milestone was reached four days after its release. The developers thanked gamers for their support and feedback and released a patch adding auto-saves upon exit and the option to skip the first day in the game.
• The studio Fantastic Signals and publisher tinyBuild reported that The Lift gathered 100,000 wishlists on Steam less than a week after its announcement. It ranked 274th in the top most wished-for games in the store, situated between Let’s Build a Dungeon and Tenjutsu. The Lift is a sci-fi simulator of a repairman trying to restore an abandoned research complex after a mysterious incident. The exact release date is still unknown, but the game is expected to come out sometime in 2026.
• Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming revealed in an interview with Game File that the budget for Ghost of Yōtei is comparable to that of Ghost of Tsushima. He did not disclose a specific amount. It is speculated online that it might be around $60 million—the alleged budget for the first installment. However, it's worth making a couple of clarifications. The $60 million was initially mentioned in a LinkedIn account by former senior financial analyst at Sucker Punch, Tara Helene, but she didn’t directly state that this was the budget for Ghost of Tsushima. Additionally, Helene left the studio in 2016, four years before the game was released, so the actual figure might be different. Official data on the development costs of Ghost of Tsushima have not been disclosed.
• The console audience in the US is becoming wealthier and older, claims the analytical company Circana. According to their calculations, in 2025, households with an annual income of over $100,000 accounted for 43% of console sales in the country—up from 36% a few years ago. The average age of American console gamers increased from 24.2 years in 2018 to 27.9 years in 2024. Analysts noted that young people in the US are now generally less likely to purchase consoles; in 2025, only 3% of purchases were made by Americans aged 18-24, whereas three years ago they were responsible for 10% of sales.
• Microsoft announced an upcoming price increase for Xbox consoles in the US. Specifically, the price of the Xbox Series S with 1TB will rise by 4.6% to $450, the standard Xbox Series X by 8.3% to $650, and the Xbox Series X Galaxy Black Special Edition with 2TB by 9.6% to $800. The prices will be updated on October 3—five months after the previous increase. The corporation explained that the reason for this latest price revision is the “changed macroeconomic situation.”