While developer S-Game has been quietly working on Phantom Blade Zero, it looks like the studio might be getting ready to show the title off to a larger audience. As caught by Reddit users, a demo for Phantom Blade Zero was spotted on the PlayStation Store before the listing was quickly taken down. S-Game itself hasn’t yet made any specific announcements regarding the matter.
The studio is currently getting ready to show off Phantom Blade Zero during a State of Play showcase slated for August 17th. In its announcement, S-Game said that its appearance during State of Play will include “never-before-seen characters central to our story”. Just last week, the developer had also confirmed that “something unexpected” would be coming soon.
Pre-orders were kicked off with the release of a trailer clocking in at 11 minutes and giving us a deeper look at protagonist Soul and how he fights off assassins after his wagon ride is interrupted. The trailer capped things off by giving us a look at one of the game’s bosses – The Order. S-Game has since noted that this trailer only offered a taste of what’s in store for players when the full game comes out.
“What you saw in the pre-order trailer is only the beginning. Battling enemies atop a speeding wagon and crossing blades with former comrades like The Hunt are just the opening moments of Soul’s journey,” said studio founder Qiwei Liang.
Phantom Blade Zero revolves around the trials and tribulations of Soul after he was framed for murdering his master. Left with only sixty-six days to live, the protagonist roams the Wulin lands in his attempts to uncover a vast conspiracy that encompasses the whole world.
Back in April, S-Game confirmed that it was not using generative AI “that could alter our artists’ original creative intent.” The studio further went on to discuss how the various in-game character models were created through 3D scans, and how traditional Chinese weaponry was used to prototype weapons for the game.
“Phantom Blade Zero is currently in the intense, final stages of development. With the time we have left, we are pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities. We are fully aware that a profound technological revolution is unfolding around us. However, to this day, every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists. We will not use AI visual tech that could alter our artists’ original creative intent.”
Phantom Blade Zero is slated for release on October 29th on PC and PS5. Xbox Series X/S might have to wait for a while before the game makes its way over to the console, since S-Game has signed a year-long console exclusivity deal with Sony. There has also been no confirmation about whether the game will eventually make its way to Xbox Series X/S.
While you wait for more details about Phantom Blade Zero to be revealed later this week, take a look at what its director thinks about launching the game close to the release of Grand Theft Auto 6.
