Phantom Blade Zero, the kungfupunk action RPG from Chinese developer S-Game, has opened with an enormous Steam audience. Within 24 hours of launch, it reached more than 700,000 concurrent players, making it the 15th-biggest launch in the storefront’s history.
S-Game was previously known mainly for mobile games, making the scale of this release particularly notable. The game is not a conventional Soulslike, but combines demanding action with a sprawling campaign that takes around 30 hours to complete.
A strong launch for a new Chinese studio
Reviews published earlier in the week were broadly positive, and the player count puts Phantom Blade Zero close to the launch figures achieved by major single-player winners such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring. The immediate question is whether the opening hours can retain that audience through the Halloween weekend.
“Another Chinese studio came out of nowhere and made a banger game. Just beat the first ‘boss.’ So far so good,” reads one early Steam user review.
The comparison that matters most is Black Myth: Wukong, another breakout action game from China. It recorded Steam’s second-highest concurrent player launch at 2,415,714, behind PUBG and its 2,415,714-player battle royale-era peak?
Correction: PUBG remains the record holder referenced here, with roughly one million more concurrent players than Black Myth: Wukong during the start of the battle royale boom.
Whether Phantom Blade Zero can follow the same trajectory is less certain. Shenzhen-based consultant Daniel Camilo recently wrote that the game has strong interest among dedicated players in China and overseas, but has not become a broader cultural phenomenon.
Camilo’s distinction is that Black Myth: Wukong had reached an unusually wide audience in China, including people outside the usual gaming community. By contrast, Phantom Blade Zero is not yet at the point where it is recognised by the general public, even in its home market.
First patch targets PC performance
The weeks ahead will show how long the launch momentum lasts. Black Myth: Wukong also launched without having to share attention with Grand Theft Auto 6, although Rockstar’s blockbuster will not be released on PC at launch.
In the meantime, S-Game has issued the first major update for Phantom Blade Zero. The 5GB patch is intended to improve performance, particularly on weaker computers. Players experiencing further problems are also advised to try rolling back recent Nvidia driver versions.
The studio said it had refined the game’s rasterised visuals so environments would retain their intended art direction with ray tracing disabled. It also said the game had been tested on mid-range and lower-end PCs, along with handheld devices, and invited players to try those configurations. The developer’s full statement is available in the game’s Steam review responses.
For more gaming and hardware coverage, explore RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog, browse the latest arcade machines, or use the arcade machine buying guide when planning a home setup.
A personal project scaled up
S-Game boss and creative director Soulframe Liang also published a personal letter alongside the day-one update. He explained that the project began as an indie game he made while studying, during a difficult period, before growing into the much larger production released today.
“This is a game of immense scale, made with all the passion in our hearts. It is a gift from a small group of gamers who just happen to be developers, to every gamer who shares our love for gaming,” Liang wrote.
Leave a Reply