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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Phantom Blade Zero is the culmination of a creative path that began with Soulframe Liang’s 2010 RPG Maker game Rainblood: Town of Death. That does not mean this particular game spent 15 years in continuous development: the franchise grew through other projects, including mobile games, before S-GAME expanded its plans for this action RPG with Tencent investment. No public budget amount has been disclosed.
Did Phantom Blade Zero take 15 years to develop?
Not in the sense of a single game being in production for 15 years. The timeline describes the distance between Liang’s early creative ambition and the larger action game he eventually wanted to make. In a 2023 PlayStation Blog account, S-GAME founder and CEO Soulframe Liang (Qiwei Liang) said the series began with a game he made himself in 2010 using RPG Maker: Rainblood: Town of Death.
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Liang said the project began while he was studying architecture, and that making the game offered an escape during a difficult period. Rainblood grew into a franchise that was later renamed Phantom Blade. Liang said most of the intervening games were smartphone releases that did not launch outside China. He also described the franchise as having a fan base of more than 20 million; that is his 2023 claim, and the post does not define whether the figure refers to players, accounts, or downloads.
A 2025 PC Gamer interview adds that Liang completed a second RPG before turning away from an architecture-office job in New York and returning to China to start a small studio. It does not name that RPG or establish that it was made in RPG Maker. The same interview discusses S-GAME’s early side-scrolling action game Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage and later Phantom Blade: Executioners. The documented history is therefore a creative lineage and a series of projects—not proof that two RPG Maker games were both made, or that Phantom Blade Zero itself was in development continuously since 2010.
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How did the project grow, and what is known about its budget?
Liang told PC Gamer that S-GAME initially planned to fund a smaller version of Phantom Blade Zero with money earned from its mobile games. The studio later received investment from Tencent, allowing it to expand the project. The interview says S-GAME retained development and publishing control. Neither it nor the official pages cited here gives a budget figure, so “a whole lot of money” is not a verifiable amount or disclosed budget tier.
Liang summed up the studio’s approach to funding in the interview: “Yeah—many people are making games for money, but we make money for games.” That is his characterization, not a formal financial statement from S-GAME.
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What kind of action game is Phantom Blade Zero?
Phantom Blade Zero is a dark action RPG with a wuxia-inspired setting and a deliberately hybrid “Kungfupunk” style: Chinese martial arts alongside steampunk-like machinery, occult elements, and fantasy. In S-GAME’s 2023 reveal post, the protagonist, Soul, is an elite assassin framed for killing the patriarch of the powerful Order. A mystic healer saves him, but the cure lasts only 66 days. Soul must uncover who arranged the killing while confronting dangerous enemies and monsters.
Fast, elaborate combat and a semi-open world
Liang described the intended combat as fast and elaborate, drawing on kung fu cinema rather than slower, more strategic action conventions. He explained the creative gap the studio wanted to close: “That scale, sidescrolling and with kung fu movements and skills, while also cool, I would say was not enough. I am proud of them, but it’s not enough to express my idea of building this Phantom world.”
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The world is described as semi-open: a collection of reasonably sized, handcrafted maps with activities, rather than one continuous landscape. The 2023 post also described action director Kenji Tanigaki demonstrating moves for camera-array reference and said the team used handcrafted animation because it believed motion capture could not do those movements justice. That is an account of the approach at that stage, not a complete description of the final animation pipeline; later marketing also discusses motion capture and choreographer collaboration.
Genre labels can be misleading here. Steam includes a user-defined Souls-like tag, but that tag alone does not establish how the game plays. The more specific description supported by Liang’s account is fast, combo-focused action shaped by kung fu cinema; a definitive Soulslike classification is not established by the available descriptions.
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- Dolmen is a terrifying new action RPG that combines futuristic Sci-Fi and Cosmic Horror elements
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- Experience a rich combat system with various weapons and moves at your disposal
- Energy management is key to victory in Dolmen - Energy is not only used for ranged weapons, but also for activating "Energy Mode"
- Revion Prime offers a wide array of gruesome obstacles that will put your skills to the test
Weapons, side paths, and build changes
In an August 17, 2026 PlayStation Blog deep dive, Liang said players can unlock more than 30 main weapons and 25 secondary weapons, called Phantom Edges. Weapons can be upgraded and combined with accessories; players can also reforge a weapon to recover its materials for another build. The post says side quests may open story paths and reveal more about the Wulin. These are publisher-described features, not independent hands-on findings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When does Phantom Blade Zero come out, and where can you play it?
As of October 9, 2026, S-GAME’s official site lists October 29, 2026 as the release date. Its pre-order announcement lists PS5, Steam, and Epic Games Store. Steam’s store listing gives October 28, one day earlier, and names S-GAME Studio as developer and S-GAME Publishing as publisher. Check the relevant storefront close to release because dates and regional listings can change.
The official site lists Standard and Deluxe editions. The Deluxe edition includes the full game, preorder early unlocks, two exclusive outfits, a digital artbook, and a digital soundtrack. The site says the early unlock content can also be earned through in-game progression; check current regional storefront pages for the exact edition contents and pricing.
In a June 2026 creative-director letter, Liang said the game had moved from its previously scheduled September 9 date to October 29, a 50-day delay intended to improve character models, rework environments, and complete other polish. That letter explains the then-current delay; it cannot guarantee that the listed date will not change again.
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