Friday Sundae announced during Gamescom Opening Night Live that There Are No Ghosts at the Grand will star Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings) as MacBrushy, described in a press release as a “talking and singing Scottish power tool.” Also announced was the launch to Early Access for PC in December 2026, following a new demo for October’s Steam Next Fest.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand was first revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 and went on to win both the Tribeca Games Award and the ChinaJoy Music and Sound Award this year. It now heads into Gamescom with two Gamescom award nominations: Best Audio and Most Entertaining, with fan and jury voting taking place during the show.
“MacBrushy has been a fun character to play. He’s funny, a little rude, and doesn’t mince his words! but there’s a lot more to him than it might seem at first. As the story develops, you gradually see different sides of him, and it’s clear that he has some hidden depths and maybe a few secrets too. Working with Friday Sundae, we’ve been developing MacBrushy’s voice and personality, and he’s got a song or two to sing as well, which has been fun to do in character,” said Billy Boyd, in the press release.
Set in a crumbling English seaside hotel, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand sees players restore the Grand by day and uncover its darker secrets by night. Characters do not just speak to the player, they sing, with each character having their own distinctive song at key moments in the story. Players have the option to skip songs if they wish.
“MacBrushy started out as a bit of a joke about Clippy, but underneath that he’s really a father figure, drawn from the different kinds of dads and father figures I knew growing up in Scotland,” said Anil Glendinning, co-founder and creative director, at Friday Sundae, in the same press release.
He can give you brilliant advice and genuinely look out for you, but he can also lose his patience and let you know when you’ve annoyed him. Billy really understood that balance. He makes MacBrushy funny, warm and occasionally infuriating, which is exactly who we wanted him to be.”
The newly announced cast joins Alex Brightman (Schmigadoon, Hazbin Hotel) as lead player character Chris, alongside The Skints bandmates Marcia Richards as Lily and Josh Waters Rudge as Adam.
There Are No Ghosts at the Grand is a refreshingly strange mix of renovation, ghostbusting, mystery, comedy and original songs, all coming together in a way that players are really loving. Think Luigi’s Mansion meets House Flipper, with a splash of PowerWash Simulator, and it’s also a musical.
Building towards its December Early Access launch, There Are No Ghosts at the Grand will feature in Steam Next Fest this October with a brand-new demo. Featuring previously unseen gameplay, new areas to restore, original music, puzzles and more night-time ghostbusting, the demo will give players a much fuller taste of what to expect from Early Access in December.