Fresh off a new special teaser for Phantom Blade Zero with a full trailer and pre-orders due later this Summer, CEO and game director Liang Qiwei announced a delay. Instead of September 9th, the hack-and-slash action adventure will now launch on October 29th for PS5 and PC.
In a statement on Twitter, Liang said, “I want to offer my sincere apologies to all the players who have been following and supporting us. This was not an easy decision. More than anyone, we understand the expectations our players have placed on us. And precisely because of those expectations, we do not want to release Phantom Blade Zero knowing there is still an opportunity to take it one step further.”
Recounting the game’s reveal in 2023 to the offline demo in 2024 and the stunning showcase of the Lion Dance, Drunk Sword and Seven-Star Sword Formation, Liang notes how the title showcased a “clear leap forward” at every major turn. The team has spent the past several months “streamlining content” and focusing its efforts on “polishing the areas that matter most.”
“During this process, I saw one final opportunity for Phantom Blade Zero to make another meaningful leap forward. We have upgraded a number of character models and reworked many environments across the game, pushing them toward the highest standard we can currently achieve.”
Also, good news for those worried about ray tracing requirements. Liang notes that “additional effort” was spent on preserving “as much of this visual impact as possible even without relying on ray tracing.” “Of course, ray tracing will further enhance the visuals, but our priority is to make sure the core look, atmosphere, and intensity of Phantom Blade Zero come through at full force for as many players as possible.”
While he acknowledges that 50 days isn’t enough to address everything, it will ensure the developer can make several “clearly defined and genuinely important improvements.” Why not save some of these fixes for post-launch patches? Liang had considered this, but “for the players who choose to join us on day one, we believe they deserve the best version of Phantom Blade Zero we can deliver from the very beginning.”
Apologizing once more for the delay, he assured that there would be more to see this Summer. “I believe every extra day of waiting will be worth it.”
Phantom Blade Zero will be available for PS5 and PC, and while S-Game hasn’t ruled out an Xbox Series X/S version, it’s a 12-month timed exclusive for Sony’s platform. Thus far, we’ve heard a lot about the side content, how players’ decisions can have a “bigger macroscopic impact” on the story and even how real artists have hand-crafted everything, right down to the Xuan paper.
