Phasmophobia’s official v0.19.0.0 patch notes confirm that the second part of the game’s Quality of Life update is now live. The release adds smaller Restricted versions of three large locations, improves how evidence is tracked, and gives ghost hunters clearer information when a teammate dies or records something they have already captured.
Kinetic Games outlined the changes in its Quality of Life Part 2 preview, which also confirms the update’s rollout across platforms. The patch is less about a new event than about making investigations easier to read. It trims the friction around map choice, shared evidence, and the Journal without removing the uncertainty that makes a hunt work.
Three large maps get shorter routes
Restricted variants are available for Prison, Brownstone High School, and Point Hope. Point Hope Restricted is classed as a Small map, while Prison and Brownstone High School use multiple variants with different sizes. Brownstone High School has four variants in total after the update, with a small environmental detail outside each one indicating which version loaded for the contract.
The change answers a practical problem for regular players. Phasmophobia’s larger locations can create long stretches of searching when a group wants a focused investigation, especially when only a few people are online. Restricted maps keep the locations that players know while creating shorter routes to rooms, evidence, and danger. They also add another layer of anticipation because a team cannot assume it knows the exact shape of a contract before entering.
The new options should sit comfortably beside the kind of oppressive spaces that have made this year’s horror games stand out. PixelTempo’s coverage of The Sinking City 2’s flooded Arkham and Hellraiser: Revival’s puzzle-box horror looks at games built around hostile environments. Phasmophobia takes a more repeatable, cooperative route, but its map design still determines how much time players spend preparing, hiding, and finding a way back to the truck.
The Journal now does more of the bookkeeping
Evidence collection also gets a clearer visual language. Photo Cameras, Video Cameras, and Sound Recorders now indicate when a piece of media is a duplicate. Tier 1 Photo Cameras use a yellow LED, while higher-tier cameras show faded text instead of the usual bold white message. Sound Recorders use dimmer volume indicators or faded sound waves depending on their tier.
These signals matter because duplicate media can look useful at the moment it is captured. The new indicators let players recognize that a recording will not add fresh evidence without having to stop and inspect the Journal. The patch also lets the Journal display each player’s selected Evidence and Ghost Type, reducing the need to call out every selection over voice chat.
The old Keys section has been replaced by an Items We Have Found page that records keys, the bone, and seasonal collectibles in the order they are discovered. When a player selects a Ghost type, the Journal highlights the evidence required for that type and fades evidence that is not needed. Custom Difficulty can also select a Ghost type directly, with the setting using a zero multiplier so it does not contribute to progression, achievements, or leaflets.
VR movement and deaths get a sharper pass
Kinetic Games has replaced the VR character rig across platforms, with the stated goal of making movement more responsive and matching the character model more closely to a player’s arm length. The update also allows players using Text Voice Recognition Mode to interact with a Spirit Box that is not currently held.
Death is more readable too. Dead players and their bodies now have a greyer appearance and misty eyes, while a player’s voice chat cuts out as soon as the death animation reaches the neck snap rather than waiting until the animation finishes. That is a small change, but it gives the living team a cleaner signal that a teammate is no longer part of the investigation.
Version 0.19.0.0 also includes network stability work, fixes for incorrect ghost statistics, and several map and interaction fixes. The update does not turn Phasmophobia into a different game. It makes the information around each investigation easier to parse, then gives groups more control over how much of a familiar location they want to tackle in one sitting.
