New Phasmophobia Ghost Gets a Presidential Nickname

Phasmophobia players can’t stop talking about Obama after the game introduced a new ghost whose name is loosely similar to that of the 44th U.S. President. The coincidence has snowballed into a full-fledged meme that’s currently flooding Phasmophobia‘s online communities.

The new ghost, officially called Obambo, is one of the many additions included in the latest Winter’s Jest update for Phasmophobia. The patch rolled out on December 16, bumping the game’s version number up to 0.15.1.0 and kicking off the 2025 edition of its annual holiday event.

Phasmophobia: Winter’s Jest 2025 Event Guide

Find out how Phasmophobia’s Winter’s Jest event works and what rewards are on the line for completing all the objectives.

Phasmophobia’s Obambo Ghost Nicknamed ‘Obama’ by Fans

Within hours of the new Phasmophobia update going live, fans began nicknaming Obambo “Obama.” The fact that the patch introduced a new holiday activity seemingly helped the gag take off quickly, as plenty of players logged into the game in order to play the annual seasonal event and immediately started posting about “Obama” hunts. The joke has already found its way into many popular meme formats, including the evergreen “thanks, Obama” template.

Some Players Are Amused ‘Obama’ Debuted in Phasmophobia Before Specter

Amid the ongoing sea of gags that can be found on the game’s largest subreddit, one meme that recently gained traction saw its author express amusement at Phasmophobia getting “Obama” before Specter. For reference, fans have for years now been requesting a new ghost type called Specter, going as far as to develop detailed concepts for it, all the while arguing such an addition would be a perfect fit for Kinetic’s hit survival horror game. The British developer has not yet given any official indication of seriously considering this move, which would potentially cause some localization difficulties seeing how Phasmophobia‘s terrifying teleporting Wraith is translated as “Specter” in some languages.

Phasmophobia Just Hit Its Record Steam Player Count for December 2025

The Obama meme may have helped amplify the rollout of the 0.15.1.0 patch, which saw the game soar to 36,891 concurrent players on Steam, a new December 2025 record. According to December 17 data compiled by SteamDB, Phasmophobia is currently the 39th biggest game on Valve’s storefront by daily active user count, as well as the 45th best-selling game on the platform.

Serious Player Reactions to Phasmophobia’s ‘Obama’ Ghost Are Mixed

Memes aside, serious player reactions to Obambo currently appear to be a mixed bag. While some fans praised the ghost’s design as sufficiently scary to keep them on their toes, others don’t appear to be enjoying its oscillating activity, which reportedly swings sharply between lulls and spikes, potentially making its hunts feel abrupt. Some player frustrations are not directed at the ghost itself, but rather at the in-game journal, which prioritizes flavor text over clear guidance on how to identify Obambo. This issue also affects the other two ghosts introduced in update 0.15.1.0: Gallu and Dayan. As a result, detecting Phasmophobia‘s three new ghost types without external help can be a frustrating experience—one likely to persist until Kinetic adds clearer hints or the evidence combinations become more widely known among players.

What’s Next for Phasmophobia in its Post-Obama Era

The 0.15.1.0 patch is expected to be Phasmophobia‘s final content update in 2025. For 2026, Kinetic has already confirmed several major additions being in the works, including the so-called Horror 2.0 update that’s expected to coincide with the game leaving early access after more than five years. This rework of Phasmophobia‘s core mechanics is expected to introduce new ghost events and interactions, among other novelties. Separately, Kinetic is also working on additional maps and seasonal events. Phasmophobia has also been announced for the Switch 2 during The Game Awards 2025, with its eShop release currently planned for 2026. According to Kinetic, the Switch 2 version of the co-op horror game will offer the same content as its PC, PlayStation, and Xbox counterparts.