“Going gold” has long been one of those phrases that sit in the gaming vernacular as this sometimes confusing thing that people get excited about without knowing why. For the literal definition, we turn to a 2019 news brief from Game Informer in which Imran Khan says “In the video game industry, going gold means that a game has reached a point where they can press a master disc upon which all other discs are based on. This does not necessarily mean that the game is at 1.0. In theory, a master disc could contain most or all of the game but still be unplayable for content or quality reasons until an update is applied.” In many ways, it’s like reporting on when a film wraps principle production. It’s done, but there’s still work to be done. Anyways, that’s a long-winded introduction to say that Ghost of Tsushima from Sucker Punch has gone gold and is still set for a July 17 release date.
We’re thrilled to announce that #GhostOfTsushima has gone GOLD! This is the culmination of years of hard work from our team and we can’t wait to get it into your hands on July 17! pic.twitter.com/nidZvlqIIk
— Ghost of Tsushima July 17 (@SuckerPunchProd) June 22, 2020
It’s strange news to report, almost like saying, “Breaking news: Game set to come out is definitely coming out.” Regardless, it’s still a monumental moment in any game’s development, and especially one as long-awaited as Ghost of Tsushima. The work of countless team members and an equally countless number of hours, getting a title like Tsushima to this point is the combined, collaborative effort that makes the games industry so special.
As one of my colleagues said in the site’s Slack channel, “It’s just this feeling of ‘This thing I am excited about is really real.'”This is important: We’re allowed to get excited about new releases and allow ourselves to, on occasion, get wrapped up in the hype. So, hype away my friends as Ghost of Tsushima barrels head-long towards its July 17 release on PlayStation 4.
