10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
The Xbox Showcase's most surprising reveal is a spooky British home renovation musical
Developer Friday Sundae revealed an eye-catching new game, There Are No Ghosts At the Grand, during the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase. The project, set to launch in 2026 on Xbox and PC, is one part part home renovation game, one part British ghost story, and one part musical.
The debut trailer was one of many during a packed Xbox Games Showcase, but it stands out among the pack. The breakneck clip features talking cats, a full on musical sequence, magical power tools, and much more. If it all left you a little confused, Digital Trends learned more about how exactly the eclectic genre mash-up works.
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There Are No Ghosts At the Grand is a narrative-driven adventure game follows Chris David, a man who inherits a dilapidated seaside hotel from his late father. His goal is to renovate the hotel in 30 days and nights using seven somewhat magical power tools. The trailer gives a glimpse if tools like sand blasters and furniture canons. Players can blast wallpaper away, vacuum up trash, redecorate, and more in first-person. It may look a bit like House Flipper or PowerWash Simulator at first glance, but that's not exactly the full picture.
The project isn't a life simulator, but rather a supernatural mystery game with some choice-driven gameplay. Cleaning the hotel, and the town around it, during the day will reveal details about what exactly happened at The Grand. Friday Sundae notes that there are several layers of deception at play during the 10 hour story, as even the game's hero is described as an unreliable narrator. Players will also be able to explore a small open-world in that time, where they can ride around the sea on a boat, search for buried treasure with a metal detector, or ride around on a scooter in search of side activities like mini-golf.
There are seven main areas to restore in the hotel and each one has an NPC tied to it who's a bit of a caretaker (and also a talking cat named Mr. Bones the Bastard). That's where the game's musical component comes in, as each one belts out original songs by Friday Sundae. The team describes it less like a traditional musical and more as a collection of British punk and ska records.
The gameplay completely changes once again when nightfall hits. Everything transforms into a horror game at that point, where players need to outrun ghosts as the hotel shifts. The power tools turn into weapons at that point, which can suck up or otherwise destroy specters.
So, to recap: house renovation mystery musical with open-world elements by day, Luigi's Mansion-esque horror game by night, all of which has to be completed within 30 days and 30 nights. Got that?
There Are No Ghosts At the Grand launches for Xbox and PC in 2026.
