Although it's still only in early access on Steam, Phasmophobia has become incredibly popular. The ghost hunting co-op game spiked in popularity before the Halloween season, and it's remained a hit on sites like Twitch. It's due to this incredible popularity that Kinetic Games is reworking future updates for Phasmophobia. Unfortunately, this also means a 3-against-1 PvP mode where one player controlled a ghost is no longer happening.
A player-controlled ghost had been teased earlier last month, thanks to Kinetic Games's public roadmap for Phasmophobia. The roadmap, which teased a number of new locations and items, stirred up quite a bit of interest for its upcoming PvP mode. The thought of controlling a ghost and playing against three other people was extremely enticing to a lot of fans.
Sadly, this PvP mode is no longer happening. One of the reasons for this is that Kinetic Games is a one-person operation, which means updates can take some time. Because of the game's popularity, the early access changes in Phasmophobia will focus more on bug fixes and improvements than on new content. This also means fans of the game will have to wait a little longer for some of the other updates listed on Phasmophobia's Trello roadmap, while some ideas like the PvP mode are being scrapped completely.
The Real Reason Phasmophobia's PvP Mode Was Cancelled
The one-person crew behind Kinetic Games and Phasmophobia goes by the name Dknighter. In an interview with IGN, Dknighter said the reason PvP was cancelled was because it changed the game too much. Phasmophobia found success because of its ghost-hunting formula, and a PvP mode could change the game in undesirable ways. Dknighter instead wants to keep the game as 4 players versus 1 AI-controlled ghost. It's a formula that's worked incredibly well, so rather than try to tamper with it, Dknighter wants to focus on improving the current players-versus-ghost mechanics.
While this is likely disappointing news for fans who were excited at the prospect of playing as a ghost, it makes sense. Phasmophobia found success by creating tension between players and AI ghosts. Part of the game's allure is figuring out who these creepy ghosts are and how they died. A player-controlled ghost probably wouldn't be as scary, and it could hurt the game's overall success once it fully releases.
For now, the game continues to be in early access with regular updates. It appears that all plans for a PvP mode have been officially cancelled. Although this means players won't get to control a ghost, there's still plenty of creepy co-op fun to be had in Phasmophobia.