Phasmophobia’s July 21 cleanup pass is bigger than it looks

Kinetic Games said the first half of the Quality of Life update will arrive with the 13 Willow Street rework, while part two will follow in late August.

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Phasmophobia's July 21 cleanup pass is bigger than it looks

Phasmophobia is lining up its next Quality of Life update for July 21, 2026, when it will arrive alongside the 13 Willow Street rework. Kinetic Games said this first half of the QoL pass is the larger one, and part two will follow in late August.

The studio also said PC players will get new inventory keybinds for 1, 2, 3, and 4, while the update will also bring more changes to evidence collection and the revamped map. Kinetic Games plans to share a fuller breakdown in a blog the week before launch, and its 2026 and beyond blog post had already split the QoL work into two parts.

The bulk of this first wave is about speed and cleanup. Journal use will be faster, lighting around players will be easier to read, photo evidence handling will get a pass, and VR players will see a slate of targeted fixes before a separate character rig update in August.

Patch Notes

The biggest changes in this build focus on faster interactions, clearer visibility, better evidence handling, and a long list of bug fixes across ghosts, gear, maps, and VR.

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.

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Source: Steam

Phasmophobia is a 4 player online co-op psychological horror where you and your team members of paranormal investigators will enter haunted locations filled with paranormal activity and gather as much evidence of the paranormal as you can. You will use your ghost hunting equipment to search for and record evidence of whatever ghost is haunting the location to sell onto a ghost removal team.

You can choose to support your team by monitoring the location with CCTV cameras and motion sensors from the safety of the truck or head inside and get your hands dirty with the ghostly activity that will get increasingly hostile as time goes on.

Genre: Puzzle, Tactical, Indie
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation VR2, Windows Mixed Reality, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), SteamVR, PlayStation 5, Oculus Rift
Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
Release: 2020-09-18
Publisher: Kinetic Games
Age Rating: ESRB T / GRAC 15+
IGDB Rating: 68.5/100