Phasmophobia is set to receive its long-awaited Player Character Update on May 5, introducing full character customization, animation overhauls, and gameplay changes. Learn more about what’s included in the update below.
Phasmophobia Player Character Update Set for May 5
Introduces Customization And Reworked Animations
Phasmophobia’s Player Character Update arrives May 5, 2026, Kinetic Games announced in an April 28 blog post on its official site. The update will mark a significant step as the game continues its push toward a full 1.0 launch later this year.
As mentioned in the announcement, the Player Character Update will introduce full player character customization, finally opening the in-game shop and allowing players to choose from 12 base characters and be able to modify their clothing, hair color, and much more.
Additional cosmetics will roll out over time through future updates and Twitch Drops, including the High Priestess T-shirt available from May 5 to May 11, which players can earn by watching participating Phasmophobia creators on Twitch. Cosmetics can be unlocked through gameplay or acquired from the in-game shop, with no microtransactions included.
Players who participated in the recent Cursed Hollow event will also receive exclusive customization items at launch. The annual limited-time Easter event ran from March 31 to April 21, featuring themed challenges and rotating maps. Completing the event’s challenges granted players cosmetics such as a necklace, T-shirt, and Forest Spirit Mask.
Animations and movement will also see changes, replacing the game’s long-standing "janky" visuals with reworked animations. Character models would often move in unnatural or exaggerated ways, which some players found humorous despite the game’s horror setting. The update will also remove the "death room," the separate ghost realm players are sent to after dying.
Back when Phasmophobia launched on consoles in October 2024, Art Director Corey Dixon said in an interview with GameSpot, "We definitely plan to remove [the animation jank]. It’s obviously funny and makes the game more light-hearted, but we are trying to push it more in the direction of a serious horror game."
Kinetic Games also confirmed that the "death room," the separate ghost realm players are sent to after dying, will be removed, though the developer has not detailed the reasoning behind the change. In the announcement, the team noted there would be "some changes to the overall gameplay experience" alongside "the way [players] interact with both the environment and [their] chosen equipment during an investigation." Further details have not been revealed.
"Since Phasmophobia launched in 2020, the team has put in so much effort to make the game more immersive and replayable, and giving players the freedom to personalise their ghost hunters feels like the natural next step," said Corey Dixon, Art Director at Kinetic Games. "Player customisation unlocks so many possibilities for us in the future, and paired with the updated models and animations we’re also starting to up the scare factor even more – which is just a small part of the bigger journey to 1.0."
Road to 1.0
The update arrives as part of Phasmophobia’s broader 2026 roadmap, which outlines several additions ahead of its planned 1.0 release later this year, as the game continues building toward its full launch. Earlier this year, the game hosted its annual Cursed Hollow Easter event from March 31 to April 21. Shortly after the Player Character Update launches, the game will host a limited-time crossover event with Alan Wake 2 from May 12 to June 2, marking its first-ever collaboration event.
Phasmophobia is currently available in Early Access on Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, and Xbox Series X|S. For more information about the game, check our article below.
Sources:
Announcing - Player Character Update
Phasmophobia's Next Update Will Remove Its Goofy Animations, Even Though Some Players Love Them
Phasmophobia's Roadmap for 2026
Phasmophobia's Player Character Update Arrives May 5th
