Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Thank you to everyone for the warm reception to our first Quality of Life update last month, and we’re glad to see many of you enjoying Phasmophobia once more.

Today as promised, we’re sharing details on the upcoming second Quality of Life update for Phasmophobia. We’ll be releasing this update across all platforms on 25th August, 2026. Exact release times are still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on our channels for official confirmation of when the update is live. 

Let’s break down a couple of the features we’re excited about before sharing the full list: 

New Restricted Options

For a long while, we have seen folks requesting smaller versions of our larger maps in the vein of Sunny Meadows Restricted. With this update we’re excited to introduce Restricted versions for Prison, Brownstone High School and Point Hope.

As with Sunny Meadows, these map variants are designed for quicker games in locations that we know players enjoy but sometimes don’t want to be investigating the larger area. In the case of Point Hope Restricted, which will be classed as small, Ghost Hunters will be able to access up to the Dining Room while Prison and Brownstone High School will have multiple variants - classed as Small and Medium respectively - which will be randomly assigned upon loading into a contract. 

Brownstone High School in particular will have a total of 4 map variants following the update. With such a big map, we believed it was appropriate to give a variety of variations, giving Ghost Hunters a sense of mystery when loading up. Outside each Restricted version of the map, a small piece of environmental decor will signify which variant of the map you’re on.

Journal & Evidence Changes

We made a handful of changes and improvements to Evidence collection with the first Quality of Life update, and we’re doing the same with the second. As with all of our updates, we’ll be looking for and reading through player feedback on these changes so please do let us know your thoughts once you’ve spent some time with them. 

Since our Chronicle update last year, we’ve been working on finessing the Unique/Duplicate system. A change we’re introducing with this next update means there’ll now be visual indicators to show that a piece of Media a Ghost Hunter captures is a Duplicate without the need to check the Journal. 

To detect a Duplicate, keep an eye out for the following indicators:

• Tier 1 Photo Cameras will display a yellow LED light.

• Tier 2 & 3 Photo Cameras and all Tiers of Video Cameras will display a faded overlay, rather than the usual bold white text.

• Tier 1 Sound Recorder will lower the brightness of the Volume indicators.

• Tier 2 & 3 Sound Recorders will display faded sound waves.

Another important addition in this update is being able to see other Ghost Hunters’ Evidence and Ghost selections in the Journal. This means there’ll be no more need to double check with other players which pieces of Evidence you’ve captured and see other’s opinions on which Ghost the group is dealing with - and of course making sure everyone has the same selection when you’re leaving in the Truck!

Elsewhere, we’ve replaced the Keys section in the journal with the ‘Items We’ve Found’ section. Appearing in the order they are found, this will display collected items such as keys, the bone and seasonal event collectables. On this same page, a gender symbol (♀/♂) will now be displayed alongside the Ghost's name, allowing for easier understanding of male and female names and Ghost types - especially for non-English speaking players.

VR Improvements

With this Quality of Life update, we’re completely replacing the VR character rig across all platforms. This means more responsive movement in-line with your own body’s, improved accuracy on the character model to match player’s arm length as well as an overall improvement to visuals of the character model when playing with VR users.

We’re also addressing several regularly reported issues from VR players, which we’ll detail in the full patch notes at release. As with other areas of Phasmophobia, please do let us know any feedback you have from your time in VR or any issues you encounter via our Help Centre.[kineticgames.zendesk.com]

Gameplay Improvements

Finally, for today, we just wanted to dive in to some of the changes coming to the gameplay of Phasmophobia. Firstly, we’ll be implementing the ability to select the Ghost Type for any Custom Difficulty investigations. You’ll find this in the Ghost settings when setting up your game, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Another change with this update is a change to character appearance upon death. As seen below, the dead body will now be seen with a greyer skin as well as misty eyes. Dead players will also appear this way to others while Dead. In addition to this change a player’s voice chat will now be cut off as soon as they die - the moment their neck is snapped during the death animation.

Below, you’ll find a list of all the New features coming with this Quality of Life update as well as the Changes section. At the release of the update, as mentioned, we’ll share the full patch notes along with the list of Fixes for known bugs and issues. We look forward to sharing this update with you on August 25th, 2026.

New

• Added new Restricted variants of the below maps.

• Prison (Restricted version is classed as a Small map)

  • Brownstone High School (Restricted versions are classed as Medium maps)

  • Point Hope (Restricted version is classed as a Small map)

• Video Cameras, Photo Cameras and Sound Recorders will now indicate Duplicate evidence.

• Tier 1 Photo Cameras will display a yellow LED light.

  • Tier 2 & 3 Photo Cameras and all Tiers of Video Cameras will display faded text rather than the usual bold white text.

  • Tier 1 Sound Recorder will lower the brightness of the Volume indicators.

  • Tier 2 & 3 Sound Recorders will display faded sound waves.

• The Journal will now display other player selections of Evidence and Ghost Type.

• The Keys section in the Journal has been replaced with Items We’ve Found, this new section will show keys, the bone and seasonal event collectables.

• Added the ability to select the Ghost Type in a Custom Difficulty which will set the multiplier to 0.

• Added a new Legacy Badge section to the Customisation shop to allow you to edit your badge at any time.

• Players without a Legacy Badge will not see this option.

• Added a ‘Hold Use’ sticky note on the Training whiteboards.

• Dead players and dead player bodies will now look dead.

• Added unique video evidence text for shower and fuse box interactions.

• Added an icon to show whether a ghost name is male or female.

Changes

• When speaking, the speaker icon on ID cards will now function for all players, including local player

• Improvements have been made to the VR character rig, allowing for more accurate and responsive movement.

• Players can now interact with a Spirit Box that's not held when using Text Voice Recognition Mode.

• Custom Difficulties with a 0 multiplier will no longer contribute towards any progress, such as achievements and leaflets.

• Pressing use while holding a lit Tier 1 Firelight will now use another, without having to wait for the animation to finish.

• When a player dies, their voice chat will now be cut out as soon as they die in the animation, rather than at the end.

• The Truck has been moved closer to the main entrance on Brownstone High School and Prison.

• The Journal automatically opens on the Evidence page if the player opens it when Dead for the first time.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

We've deployed a small hotfix to address feedback on the Equipment and Item slot assignments.

Patch notes below:

Changes

• Items and Equipment will now be assigned a slot in the order they are picked up from 1-3. Flashlights will no longer be locked to 1. Igniters will default to 4. 

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Today we have deployed an update for Phasmophobia that addresses several issues that were raised following last week’s update. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback and helped us identify these issues.

Full patch notes below.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused Photo Cameras to interfere with other player animations.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Photo Camera’s Use animation to not play in Multiplayer.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Photo Camera to take an extra photo when dropped while taking a photo.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Photo Camera to take a photo if picked up by another player after being dropped while being used by the original player.

• Fixed an issue that caused Twitch Drop reward ID Card & Badge cosmetics to be missing.

• Fixed an issue that would cause items to get stuck or fall through the floor when dropped in Multiplayer.

• Fixed an issue that caused videos of a Hunting Ghost to not count towards the Apocalypse challenge.

• Fixed an issue that allowed Ghosts to be able to enter several hiding spots in 13 Willow Street.

  • This also fixes similar issues in 6 Tanglewood Drive, 42 Edgefield Road and 10 Ridgeview Court.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Incense to not appear as Used if the animation was cancelled by opening the Journal.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused unstable FPS whilst in the Truck.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused players to become stuck while loading in to a Multiplayer game on Bleasdale Farmhouse.

Known Issues

• If a Flashlight is not picked up, hotkeys are assigned in this order: 2, 3, 1. If a Flashlight is picked up, it will default to 1. A following patch will address this issue, with Equipment being assigned in the order they are picked up. Igniters will however always default to 4.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Today we have released Phasmophobia v0.18.0.0, our latest update that brings our reworked 13 Willow Street map as well as our first Quality of Life update for 2026. Patch notes can be found below.

New

• 13 Willow Street Rework: The map has received a full visual overhaul, with new assets, props and more available to discover during your contracts. The original layout remains, however some rooms have been repurposed and the flow of several rooms has been edited to improve gameplay.

• Adding keybinds for Equipment slots. PC players will be able to switch Equipment with the 1, 2, 3 and 4 keys. These keys can be rebound.

• This addition will only be available for PC players.

• Adding a keybind to be able to inspect the Watch at any time.

• This will be defaulted to Left DPAD on a controller and H on keyboard. Players can rebind this via Options > Controls.

• A separate Photo can now be taken capturing a EMF Level 5 reading.

• Photo Cameras will now feature the same highlight frame as Video Cameras. 

• On screen indicator only on Tier 2 and 3 Photo Cameras, while Tier 1 will have the light change colour from red to green.

• When capturing Media, if multiple are present, the evidence that provides the biggest reward or is Unique will be prioritised.

• New Ghost: the Deildegast 

• Players will have a higher chance of getting this Ghost in their contracts for the first few weeks following release.

• Added new walking animations and turning animations to fix several issues:

• Character legs will no longer use procedural IK and will instead use animations.

  • The character body will no longer animate with the walking animations which caused held items to move while walking.

• Improvements to the overall VR character:

• New character animations.

  • Improvements to the belt to improve usability.

  • The character will now turn instantly depending on where you are looking instead of at set angles.

Changes

• The character hand animations for grabbing, dropping, moving doors and hovering over interactable or grabbable objects have been removed to speed up gameplay.

• The item drop animation will still play for others in the session, but will not be visible by the Player.

• Cosmetics that are no longer able to be earned will not be visible.

• The camera zoom in the Customisation shop will now focus on the selected part of the character.

• On Sunny Meadows, the Ghost will now only lock the doors to a wing if both it and a player are inside that wing.

• Eye Adaptation will now adjust the lighting quicker when opening and closing the Journal.

• Console players will now have the ability to enable/disable Eye Adaptation.

• The Obake’s shapeshift will now count towards the Ghost video objective.

• You can now capture any Media for the Apocalypse challenge, instead of only a photo.

• Recording the Ghost Orbs in the Tutorial is now required, instead of only getting it inside the video camera’s screen.

• Improved the lighting around the player, allowing for better visibility in darker areas.

• Added an icon to the Player ID Card to show if that player is speaking.

• Adjusted the visuals on the PSVR2 player list popup

• Event board map leaflets are now spread over multiple pages

• Players can now cancel Use animations by pressing the Use button during the animation, allowing for equipment to be quickly toggled without waiting for the animation to finish

• The Journal has now been moved closer for easier readability.

• The Journal animation is now significantly faster.

• Character legs will now use animations, instead of procedurally generated animations when moving

• Improved the detection of photo evidence.

• Higher priority unique photos will always take priority.

  • Unique photos will always take priority over duplicates.

• VR - The character will now rotate instantly to match the head rotation when looking straight ahead. When looking down, the character rotation will only turn when an angle threshold has been met to allow easier use of the belt.

• VR - The Journal will now be instantly opened upon use.

Fixes

General Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players could be seen through the walls of the Truck when viewing the CCTV.

• Fixed an issue that caused Voice Recognition to not work if switching from ‘Voice’ to ‘System’.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor would not appear after completing a contract when using a controller.

• Improved network stability to reduce disconnects.

• Fixed an issue that would cause the cursor to disappear in the Customisation shop when clicking right and left mouse buttons simultaneously. 

• Fixed an issue that caused a green tint to be visible on animated ID cards.

• Fixed an issue that caused some Japanese text to appear too small, affecting readability.

Player Character Fixes

• Fixed an issue where binding Crouch to X (PlayStation controllers) or A (Xbox controller) prevented players from using the Journal.

• Fixed an issue that caused dead player’s eyes to appear incorrect.

• Fixed an issue that caused the ID Card to be displayed in front of the character model in the Customisation shop.

• Fixed an issue that caused players to become stuck and unable to continue playing after being revived.

• Fixed an issue that caused cosmetic settings to be reset if a Player joins or leaves a lobby.

• Fixed an issue in Nell’s Diner that caused the player to become stuck in the corner of the Freezer Room.

• Fixed an issue that allowed infinite sprinting while closing the Journal.

• Fixed an issue that caused issues with the character model’s right arm when holding certain pieces of Equipment.

• Fixed an issue that caused the cursor to become invisible in the Customisation shop if the left and right mouse buttons were clicked alternatively.

• Fixed various visual inconsistencies and errors with character models, cosmetics, equipment and more.

• Fixed an issue that caused the audio from the Customisation shop’s UI to be louder than intended.

• Fixed an issue that caused a player’s Journal to visually jitter when they swap Equipment.

Equipment Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to turn invisible when picking up another item.

• Fixed an issue that caused the light from a Flashlight to be visible after death.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to become invisible.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 1 and 3 Firelights to be placed unlit if placed during the lighting animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to toggle off if dropped while holding the Use button.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment sounds to become muffled for player’s picking them up after another player dropped them.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to be unusable if picked up during a placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from placing the Flashlight back in the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the screen to become blurry after enabling Night Vision when using the CCTV unit in the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 3 Incense to not animate correctly when activated.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Sound Recorder visuals and audio to play when not in the player’s hand.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Spirit Box to become unusable if the player switched to text recognition after picking the Spirit Box up.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 1 Head Gear to be tilted when in use.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to appear in-hand when equipping 2 handed Cursed Possessions such as the Haunted Mirror.

• Fixed an issue that could lock the player if they dropped the Video Camera during it’s placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused certain Equipment to be Used after switching to a different piece of Equipment.

• Fixed an issue that caused text prompts for the Ouija Board to not work if the player switched from Voice Recognition while using the board.

• Fixed an issue that prevented a moving Ouija Board to not be recordable by Video Cameras.

• Fixed an issue that prevented a burning Crucifix to not be recordable by the Sound Recorder.

• Fixed an issue that caused a second Salt to be placed if the Player opened the Journal during the placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused inconsistencies with Incense used/unused visuals.

• Fixed an issue that could cause Cursed Possessions to become invisible if dropped during a pick-up animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Haunted Mirror to be blocked by other objects when in Use.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to light the Summoning Circle when at 0 Sanity.

• Fixed an issue that caused the player to be softlocked if using a Crucifix at the start of a Hunt.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the player to cancel the Ouija Board answer by either dropping or picking up the board if using text recognition.

• Fixed an issue that caused Video Cameras to become unusable if picked up from another player’s Tripod.

• Fixed an issue where toggling on/off the Head Gear while using a Cursed Possession would interrupt the Cursed Possession's effect.

Ghost Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused all Ghost types to be able to mimic the Yurei’s door ability.

• Fixed an issue that prevented the Ghost from interacting with doors it had already interacted with during a Ghost Event.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Kormos to be able to hear players during the grace period after a Hunt.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to hear players during a Hunt, despite the player having used Incense.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Kormos to go to the incorrect floor after detecting a player.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to kill players through walls or from a greater distance than intended.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Phantom to perform its ability on Dead players or players outside.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Raiju heartbeat to be louder than intended during Hunts and Events.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Ghost to become stuck when in the Sunny Meadows waiting room.

• Fixed an issue that prevented Ghost Events from happening in several Medium to Large rooms, such as Point Hope’s Maintenance Room. This is still not possible in certain large rooms such as the Sunny Meadows Hallways.

Location Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused the setup timer to not count down if playing on Amateur/Intermediate on Brownstone High School.

• Fixed an issue on Bleasdale Farmhouse where the door to the hiding spot in the Foyer could be opened even if the hiding spot was blocked.

• Fixed an issue on Brownstone High School where the side doors could be opened without the key from the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the washing machines in Sunny Meadows to not be able to be turned on.

• Fixed an issue that caused the player to be unable to open the gates on Camp Woodwind and Maple Lodge Campsite despite the cursor prompt being visible.

• Fixed several issues in the Tutorial that caused the player to be unable to exit the Truck or interact with any items.

• Fixed an issue that caused doors to become broken if the player ran into them while holding a Sound Sensor.

• Fixed several issues affecting the overall lighting in Camp Woodwind.

VR Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused visual jitters for the Video Camera when attached to as Tier 2 or 3 Tripod.

• Fixed an issue that caused Stamina to not recover while crouched.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to disappear if the player walks into a waist-high object.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to grab Head Gear off of other player’s heads.

• Fixed an issue that caused player height inconsistencies in Multiplayer.

• Implemented a left hand pose when holding the Ouija Board.

• Fixed an issue that prevented the Tier 3 Igniter Use animation from playing correctly.

• Fixed an issue that caused the character model’s head to become detached from their body when walking sideways.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Head Gear to drop to the floor when placed back on the Truck rack.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to skip parts of the Tutorial by using teleport movement.

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from recording evidence whilst holding the Journal.

• Fixed an issue that caused the VR UI ray to be affected by the hand animations.

• Fixed an issue that caused the interact animation to play when looking at another Player’s items.

• Fixed an issue where players using teleport movement couldn’t enter lockers.

• Fixed an issue where the lights within the Truck would flicker when playing on Sunny Meadows and Sunny Meadows Restricted.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to pull doors off of their hinges.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Following on from our recent preview[kineticgames.co.uk] of the Quality of Life update launching on July 21st, we wanted to share some further details including the newer features - including another look at the reworked 13 Willow Street.

The New

As part of the Quality of Life update, we’re introducing a handful of new gameplay features that aim to improve the overall experience of playing Phasmophobia. 

Read the below for some details on these additions.

• Adding keybinds for Equipment slots. PC players will be able to switch Equipment with the 1, 2, 3 and 4 keys. These keys can be rebound.

• This addition will only be available for PC players.

• Adding a keybind to be able to inspect the Watch at any time.

• This will be defaulted to Left DPAD on a controller and H on keyboard. Players can rebind this via Options > Controls.

• A separate Photo can now be taken capturing an EMF Level 5 reading.

• Photo Cameras will now feature the same highlight frame as Video Cameras. 

• On screen indicator only on Tier 2 and 3 Photo Cameras, while Tier 1 will have the light change colour.

• When capturing Media, if multiple are present, the evidence that provides the biggest reward or is Unique will be prioritised.

• New Ghost: the ██████████

• Players will have a higher chance of getting this Ghost in their contracts for the first few weeks following release.

• Added new walking animations and turning animations to fix several issues:

• Character legs will no longer use procedural IK and will instead use animations.

  • The character body will no longer animate with the walking animations which caused held items to move while walking.

• Improvements to the overall VR character:

• New character animations.

  • Improvements to the belt to improve usability.

  • The character will now turn instantly depending on where you are looking instead of at set angles.

• The next quality of life update will bring a completely new VR character rig with further improvements:

• Further improvements to the belt's usability.

  • Improvements to crouching.

  • Improved character animations.

  • Held items will no longer sway when walking.

  • The character's position will accurately represent your real life body position.

13 Willow Street

As with all our reworked maps, 13 Willow Street will retain its overall original layout with a few minor changes. The core of these reworks has always been bringing the visuals up to our standards while letting each location speak for itself. As much as we love the original versions of these maps, giving them their own identities and stories has been something we’ve always wanted to achieve and we’re excited that we’ve been able to. 

Following 6 Tanglewood Drive, we know that 13 Willow Street holds a special place in a Ghost Hunter’s heart. We’ve kept that at the forefront while developing the rework, making sure that those first few steps inside feel new but familiar, and entice you to explore during each and every contract.

Check out the screenshots below for a look inside 13 Willow Street.

13 Willow Street will launch alongside the Quality of Life update on July 21st, 2026 for all platforms. Stay tuned to our social channels and our official Discord server for exact release timings. As is tradition with a new map, a new ID Card and Badge will be available upon completion of the map’s challenge. By correctly identifying 50 ghosts (and surviving) Ghost Hunters will earn the Sun Seeker set, as seen below.

We’ll also be running a new Twitch Drops campaign for the first week after launch. Players will be able to earn the animated and static versions of the Cool Cat ID Card and Badge between 21st July - 28th July by watching a total of 2 hours of Phasmophobia streams.

The animated version will be exclusively available via Kinetic Games Partner channels.

We’re looking forward to getting this update out to you next week and will be keeping an eye on every bit of feedback sent to us on social, in Discord or otherwise.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Today we’re going to give you more detail on the upcoming Quality of Life update launching alongside the 13 Willow Street rework on July 21st, 2026.

As mentioned in our recent blogpost[www.kineticgames.co.uk], the Quality of Life update itself has been split into two due to the sheer number of fixes & improvements we’ll be implementing. This first update is the bigger of the two, but you can expect the second part in late August.

The below list focuses on changes and fixes coming with this month’s update while the next update will contain further improvements.

While there’s a lot in the below list, it’s not everything that’ll be launching for Phasmophobia on July 21st, with the update bringing with it new keybinds, including PC players being able to use 1, 2, 3 and 4 for changing inventory slots, a couple of improvements for evidence collection and of course, the reworked 13 Willow Street. We’ll detail all of these in a blog the week before launch.

Changes

• The character hand animations for grabbing, dropping, moving doors and hovering over interactable or grabbable objects have been removed to speed up gameplay.

• The item drop animation will still play for others in the session, but will not be visible by the Player.

• Cosmetics that are no longer able to be earned will not be visible.

• The camera zoom in the Customisation shop will now focus on the selected part of the character.

• On Sunny Meadows, the Ghost will now only lock the doors to a wing if both it and a player are inside that wing.

• Eye Adaptation will now adjust the lighting quicker when opening and closing the Journal.

• Console players will now have the ability to enable/disable Eye Adaptation.

• The Obake’s shapeshift will now count towards the Ghost video objective.

• You can now capture any Media for the Apocalypse challenge, instead of only a photo.

• Recording the Ghost Orbs in the Tutorial is now required, instead of only getting it inside the video camera’s screen.

• Improved the lighting around the player, allowing for better visibility in darker areas.

• Added an icon to the Player ID Card to show if that player is speaking.

• Adjusted the visuals on the PSVR2 player list popup

• Event board map leaflets are now spread over multiple pages

• Players can now cancel Use animations by pressing the Use button during the animation, allowing for equipment to be quickly toggled without waiting for the animation to finish

• The Journal has now been moved closer for easier readability.

• The Journal animation is now significantly faster.

• Character legs will now use animations, instead of procedurally generated animations when moving

• Improved the detection of photo evidence.

• Higher priority unique photos will always take priority.

  • Unique photos will always take priority over duplicates.

• VR - The character will now rotate instantly to match the head rotation when looking straight ahead. When looking down, the character rotation will only turn when an angle threshold has been met to allow easier use of the belt.

• VR - The Journal will now be instantly opened upon use.

General Fixes

• Fixed an issue where players could be seen through the walls of the Truck when viewing the CCTV.

• Fixed an issue that caused Voice Recognition to not work if switching from ‘Voice’ to ‘System’.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor would not appear after completing a contract when using a controller.

• Improved network stability to reduce disconnects.

Player Character Fixes

• Fixed an issue where binding Crouch to X (PlayStation controllers) or A (Xbox controller) prevented players from using the Journal.

• Fixed an issue that caused dead player’s eyes to appear incorrect.

• Fixed an issue that caused the ID Card to be displayed in front of the character model in the Customisation shop.

• Fixed an issue that caused players to become stuck and unable to continue playing after being revived.

• Fixed an issue that caused cosmetic settings to be reset if a Player joins or leaves a lobby.

• Fixed an issue in Nell’s Diner that caused the player to become stuck in the corner of the Freezer Room.

• Fixed an issue that allowed infinite sprinting while closing the Journal.

• Fixed an issue that caused issues with the character model’s right arm when holding certain pieces of Equipment.

• Fixed an issue that caused the cursor to become invisible in the Customisation shop if the left and right mouse buttons were clicked alternatively.

• Fixed various visual inconsistencies and errors with character models, cosmetics, equipment and more.

• Fixed an issue that caused the audio from the Customisation shop’s UI to be louder than intended.

• Fixed an issue that caused a player’s Journal to visually jitter when they swap Equipment.

Equipment Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to turn invisible when picking up another item.

• Fixed an issue that caused the light from a Flashlight to be visible after death.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to become invisible.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 1 and 3 Firelights to be placed unlit if placed during the lighting animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to toggle off if dropped while holding the Use button.

• Fixed an issue that caused Equipment sounds to become muffled for player’s picking them up after another player dropped them.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to be unusable if picked up during a placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from placing the Flashlight back in the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the screen to become blurry after enabling Night Vision when using the CCTV unit in the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 3 Incense to not animate correctly when activated.

• Fixed an issue that caused a second Salt to be placed if the Player opened the Journal during the placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Sound Recorder visuals and audio to play when not in the player’s hand.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Spirit Box to become unusable if the player switched to text recognition after picking the Spirit Box up.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 1 Head Gear to be tilted when in use.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Flashlight to appear in-hand when equipping 2 handed Cursed Possessions such as the Haunted Mirror.

• Fixed an issue that could lock the player if they dropped the Photo Camera during it’s placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused certain Equipment to be Used after switching to a different piece of Equipment.

• Fixed an issue that caused text prompts for the Ouija Board to not work if the player switched from Voice Recognition while using the board.

• Fixed an issue that prevented a moving Ouija Board to not be recordable by Video Cameras.

• Fixed an issue that prevented a burning Crucifix to not be recordable by the Sound Recorder.

• Fixed an issue that caused a second Salt to be placed if the Player opened the Journal during the placement animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused inconsistencies with Incense used/unused visuals.

• Fixed an issue that could cause Cursed Possessions to become invisible if dropped during a pick-up animation.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Haunted Mirror to be blocked by other objects when in Use.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to light the Summoning Circle when at 0 Sanity.

• Fixed an issue that caused the player to be softlocked if using a Crucifix at the start of a Hunt.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the player to cancel the Ouija Board answer by either dropping or picking up the board if using text recognition.

Ghost Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused all Ghost types to be able to mimic the Yurei’s door ability.

• Fixed an issue that prevented the Ghost from interacting with doors it had already interacted with during a Ghost Event.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Kormos to be able to hear players during the grace period after a Hunt.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to hear players during a Hunt, despite the player having used Incense.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Kormos to go to the incorrect floor after detecting a player.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to kill players through walls or from a greater distance than intended.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Phantom to perform its ability on Dead players or players outside.

Location Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused the setup timer to not count down if playing on Amateur/Intermediate on Brownstone High School.

• Fixed an issue on Bleasdale Farmhouse where the door to the hiding spot in the Foyer could be opened even if the hiding spot was blocked.

• Fixed an issue on Brownstone High School where the side gate could be opened without the key from the Truck.

• Fixed an issue that caused the washing machines in Sunny Meadows to not be able to be turned on.

• Fixed an issue that caused the player to be unable to open the gates on Camp Woodwind and Maple Lodge Campsite despite the cursor prompt being visible.

• Fixed several issues in the Tutorial that caused the player to be unable to exit the Truck or interact with any items.

VR Fixes

With this first Quality of Life update, we’re addressing some immediate issues that VR players are encountering. In our August update, we’ll be implementing a brand new character rig for VR allowing for improved gameplay and animations. We’ll share more details on this in a future blog.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused visual jitters for the Video Camera when attached to as Tier 2 or 3 Tripod.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused Stamina to not recover while crouched.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused Equipment to disappear if the player walks in to a waist-high object.

• VR - Fixed an issue that allowed players to grab Head Gear off of other player’s heads.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused player height inconsistencies in Multiplayer.

• VR - Implemented a left hand pose when holding the Ouija Board.

• VR - Fixed an issue that prevented the Tier 3 Igniter Use animation from playing correctly.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused the character model’s head to become detached from their body when walking sideways.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused the Head Gear to drop to the floor when placed back on the Truck rack.

• VR - Fixed an issue that allowed players to skip parts of the Tutorial by using teleport movement.

• VR - Fixed an issue that prevented players from recording evidence whilst holding the Journal.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused the VR UI ray to be affected by the hand animations.

• VR - Fixed an issue that caused the interact animation to player when looking at another Player’s items.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters. 

Over the last month and a half, we’ve been reading the discussions about Phasmophobia across so many different channels and taking note of the biggest issues, points of concern, questions and more. We are sorry it’s taken a while to respond, but we wanted to make sure that when we did, we had something of substance for you. Hopefully today, with our updated Roadmap and information on what’s to come to Phasmophobia, we can start to build back your trust and have meaningful conversations around the game we all care so deeply about.

We’ll go in to more detail on everything in this blog, but for those of you that would rather just have the headlines, here we go:

• The rework of 13 Willow Street will launch July 21st, 2026 alongside a Quality of Life update.

• A further Quality of Life update will launch in August 2026.

• Our  upgrade to Unity 6 will take place in October 2026.

• An additional Player Character update will launch in November, bringing with it improved animations, character models, UI, more clothing and customisation options.

• Phasmophobia 1.0, as well as our next new map, will now launch in 2027.

A New Roadmap

Over the last month, we’ve taken a look at our plans for 2026 and made important decisions and changes to make sure we get things right. Phasmophobia’s new Roadmap, which can be seen below, focuses on bringing the game back in-line with our vision and one that we hope reignites your passion for it. 

With a focus on quality of life over new content, our various updates will bring with them hundreds of fixes - starting with our first update in July - as well as bringing the game up- to-date with Unity 6. Our second Player Character update will improve and redo areas such as the animations, character models, UI and introduce a host of new customisation options.

Alongside these various updates, you can expect to see more regular Development Previews that’ll take you deeper into what they’ll contain and the improvements they’ll bring to Phasmophobia.

You may notice that a few things have been removed from the Roadmap for 2026, such as Phasmophobia 1.0 and our new map. While we’ll talk more about the 1.0 delay further down in this blog, we want to reassure you that a new map will be coming to Phasmophobia, just a little later than planned.

For now, let’s go into a little detail on the first update - bringing with it the reworked 13 Willow Street.
Willow Update

Our 13 Willow Street Rework update will launch on 21st July, 2026, bringing with it the reworked map and the first of our Quality of Life updates.

Before we get into the second part, let’s take a look at the new 13 Willow Street.

As with our rework on 6 Tanglewood Drive, this new version of 13 Willow Street retains an almost identical layout to the location currently in-game but features redesigned rooms, new theming and plenty of new interactions and objects to discover. 13 Willow Street will continue our approach to storytelling in Phasmophobia too, with a story waiting to be pieced together. We can’t wait to hear your theories and thoughts.

Quality of Life UpdatesOur Quality of Life updates this year will focus on bug fixes, gameplay improvements and the overall stability and playability of the game. Due to the hundreds of bug fixes, changes and new features currently planned for release, we will be releasing two separate Quality of Life updates - the first with the Willow launch and the second in August 2026. 

These updates have been built off the back of the feedback we’ve received since the launch of the Player Character Update, as well as changes we’ve wanted to implement for a long time. We’ll provide full patch notes and details at release of the updates, but here’s a few details on some of the improvements: 

• New keybinds for pressing 1,2,3 and 4 for the individual inventory slots for keyboard and mouse only.

• FOV adjustments for held items to increase item visibility.

• Eye Adaptation option for console players.

• Moving the Truck closer to map entrances on Prison and Brownstone High School.

• Restricted map variants for Point Hope, Brownstone High School and Prison.

• VR improvements; equipment usability changes, belt improvements, character movement and more.

• The legacy badge screen will be available in the customisation shop to allow you to customise it whenever you want to.

• The collected bone will show in the Journal.

• The ghost type can be selected as a custom difficulty option.

• The zoom feature in the Customisation Shop will now zoom in on the selected area.

• Ability to raise the Watch while carrying equipment.

• Improvements to character animations; leg movements, appearance changes when dead.

• Equipment switching animation speed increases including making opening and closing the journal almost instant.

• Improvements to photo detection as well as showing an indicator for what you are taking a photo of, similar to video cameras.

• Equipment can be instantly used, allowing the animation to be skipped.

These two Quality of Life updates will address most of the issues players are encountering, and aim for them to drastically improve the state of Phasmophobia. Other planned updates, such as our move to Unity 6 later in the year, will further improve the stability and performance of the game.

Phasmophobia 1.0 Launches 2027

Earlier this year, we committed to launching Phasmophobia 1.0 at the end of 2026. Now, following a review of our plans and internal processes, we’re making the decision to move the release of 1.0 to the second half of 2027. The game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 at the same time too.

We know this will come as a disappointment to many, but this is the right decision to ensure we deliver the 1.0 version of Phasmophobia that is true to our vision, high quality standards and provides the experience for players that we’ve always wanted to achieve.

We’re not going to stay quiet though. Beginning in 2027 we’ll be bringing you with us during development through regular streams and other means; showcasing our work, sharing some of the secrets of Phasmophobia 1.0 and much more. While we won’t spoil all of the surprises, we want to be as visible as possible for you, hopefully rebuilding the trust that we’ve understandably lost this year.

That said, let’s not wait until the new year to share something.

Below is our first look at the improved model for Patient 07, a fan-favourite who - along with all of our ghost models - is getting a much needed glow up in 1.0.

All of our ghost models will be given a new lease of life(?) with this visual upgrade, but will also be providing their own unique experiences for players. What that entails exactly is something we’ll go into more detail with down the line, but we look forward to sharing that with you when we’re ready to.

Another aspect of 1.0 we want to reveal today is the introduction of Conduits. Replacing the Bone as a collectable during each contract, these are unique items paired with a particular ghost model. 

A Conduit is an item that ties a ghost to our world, preventing them from moving on. These items will provide new lore to the ghost and the overall world of Phasmophobia.

Perhaps you can piece together some tidbits already? 

Rest of the Year

We’ve focused on some of this year’s major updates for Phasmophobia, but as you can see, the Roadmap features more than just these. Following on from our two Quality of Life updates, we’ll be making the jump up to Unity 6 in October. 

This Unity 6 update will provide some crucial stability updates as well as a brand new lighting system for Phasmophobia. We’ll also be implementing further accessibility options such as preferences for colour blind players as well as further quality of life improvements and bug fixes. We’ll dive deeper into these changes in a Development Preview later this year, so please do keep an eye out for that. 

Our second Player Character update will arrive in November, bringing with it brand new customisation options and cosmetics, an improved Shop UI as well as new animations and graphical improvements for our character models in-game, giving each character much more life and personality than is currently available. 

Elsewhere, we’ll see the return of Crimson Eye and Winter’s Jest (sans leaderboards) as well as our third map rework of the year, 42 Edgefield Road. Finally, we’re also planning one extra content update for the game later in 2026 that’ll bring with it changes to our Weekly Challenges ,new Voice Recognition features and more. We will share details on all of our updates when the time is right.

Moving Phasmophobia 1.0 to 2027 allows us the time and resources to get it to the high standard that you all deserve and to rebuild the relationship between Kinetic Games and you, our community. While the news of delays is never a good thing, we do hope that the information we’ve shared with you today helps you understand our decision.

We’re sorry for how Phasmophobia was left following our last update, and we understand your frustration. The Player Character Update did not meet the standards we set for ourselves or the expectations you have for the game. Our next update is the first step in a new direction, and we look forward to sharing it with you on July 21st.

Thank you, Ghost Hunters, for your time reading this blog, your passion and support for Phasmophobia and so much more.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Today we have released a hotfix for Phasmophobia, addressing two issues raised by the community this week. The update is now available across all platforms.

Patch notes:

• Fixed an issue that caused players to become softlocked when using the Spirit Box while using a controller.

• Fixed an issue for Steam players that caused Voice Recognition to not work.

• If you are encountering issues with Voice Recognition on the "Voice" setting on PC, please ensure that the default microphone assigned on your PC is the microphone specified in your windows settings.

Welcome back, Ghost Hunters.

Today we have released our latest update for Phasmophobia, addressing several known issues in the game.

We are aware of the current ongoing issues in-game and are currently implementing fixes and improvements in future updates for Phasmophobia. We’ll be sharing our plans for the rest of 2026 later this month with you all, including a timeline for fixes and updates related to both the Player Character Update and game in general. In the meantime, please continue to provide feedback and bug reports so that our team can investigate as much as possible. You can submit any and all issues via our Support Centre[kineticgames.zendesk.com].

New

• The VR belt has been reimplemented following player feedback. Players will now also be able to switch between having their Journal and Walkie Talkie on the belt or their shoulder. 

  • The VR belt will only be visible locally, players who are looking at a VR player will see the equipment on their body instead.

Changes

• The line of sight ghost speed accelerations implemented in the Player Character Update have been reverted to their original state.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused players to become softlocked when using the Spirit Box before interacting with the Truck’s CCTV.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to kill players through floors.

• Fixed an issue that allowed the Kormos to kill players outside.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Tier 3 Firelight to not work correctly if placed while lit.

• Fixed an issue where player jackets would appear incorrectly when loading into a Multiplayer lobby.

• Fixed an issue where pressing ‘Join’ in Multiplayer without having a code entered would cause issues creating lobbies, and remove audio from the game.

• Fixed an issue where VR players were unable to use Text Input for the Spirit Box, Monkey Paw and Ouija Board.

Known Issues

• Players across all platforms are experiencing issues with voice recognition/voice chat. A fix is being investigated.

Please note: Following this update, players on Windows 7/8 or other out-of-date Windows installs may need to run Windows Update (and restart) for voice chat to connect. This is due to a recent security certificate update on our voice servers. More info can be found here[support.microsoft.com].

As you continue your investigations in Phasmophobia, if you encounter bugs, issues or simply have feedback for our team, please use our Support Centre[kineticgames.zendesk.com] to submit your reports.