Sucker Punch Productions' decision to release New Game+ three months after the launch of Ghost of Tsushima's most recent update, which also included a brand-new cooperative multiplayer mode.
With single-player games, New Game+ is really a no brainer to include as a feature. Giving players a way to re-experience the game with all of their upgraded equipment and skills, as well as increased difficulty, is an easy way to add replayability to single-player games. For games built around their gameplay, like Bloodborne or Ratchet & Clank, New Game+ has been a staple at launch because the story is really just a side car, and it allows players to just keep going with the action. But for games built around a narrative experience, it makes a lot of sense to wait before releasing the feature.
Like God of War before it, Ghost of Tsushima waited to release New Game+ after launch. The real advantage to this choice for players is that they're given ample time to decompress after exploring the game's world and experiencing the story. Games like Ghost of Tsushima are not small, and it's a lot to take in at once, let alone twice, back to back. Without that unwinding period, it's easy for players riding the hype wave to start New Game+ and lose interest quickly, as the fatigue of grinding the exact same world again sets in.
Ghost of Tsushima's Delayed New Game+ Offers a Fresh Experience
Ghost of Tsushima has a great story but it can be tough to watch the exact same narrative play out after it's already been experienced, and there's a temptation to just skip through all of the cutscenes and dialogue. While it's only been three months, enough time has ed that the story of Ghost of Tsushima isn't immediately fresh in player's minds, and it is likely much less annoying to sit through again.
Additionally, Ghost of Tsushima has recieved a number of patches and bug fixes since release. Since the developers have had time to take and apply from players, the New Game+ Ghost of Tsushima includes all the new features, benefits, and items (like Ghost of Tsushima's gear builds) which have been added to the game since launch. If New Game+ had released at the same time as the actual game, these plusses wouldn't be included.
New Game+ should be a borderline requirement at this point for nearly any single-player game, no doubt about it. It's too valuable of a feature for these games to not include it. But for games heavily built around a narrative experience, Ghost of Tsushima is reinforcing the idea that it's sometimes better to hold off and release New Game+ later on as part of an update, rather than just including it by default at launch.
