Phantom Blade Zero Release Date, Launch Time, Price and PC Requirements

The Phantom Blade Zero release date is October 29, 2026, with the game launching on PlayStation 5 and PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. In the Americas, it unlocks on the evening of October 28.

S-GAME's dark wuxia action RPG was originally due on September 9, but the Beijing studio pushed it back by 50 days in June to upgrade character models and rework environments. Development is now complete, preorders are live, and there are only three weeks to go.

Below you'll find everything confirmed so far: the launch time in your region, price and editions, PC system requirements, the story, how combat works, difficulty options and whether it is coming to Xbox.

Soul crosses a ruined bridge in the Wulin, the dark wuxia world of Phantom Blade Zero. Image: S-GAME

Phantom Blade Zero at a glance

When is the Phantom Blade Zero release date?

Phantom Blade Zero releases worldwide on Thursday, October 29, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and PC.

Because the launch is simultaneous around the world, players in North and South America get the game on the evening of Wednesday, October 28. That's why the Steam store page shows October 28 for US users, while S-GAME's official announcements say October 29.

The game was revealed at the PlayStation Showcase in May 2023 and was originally scheduled for September 9, 2026. In June, during a State of Play broadcast, S-GAME announced a 50-day delay. CEO and director Soulframe Liang said the team had found one final chance to make the game a meaningful step better, and wanted players to get the best version from day one rather than relying on post-launch patches.

When preorders opened on August 11, S-GAME confirmed in the trailer description that development of the game was complete. Barring a last-minute surprise, October 29 is the final date.

Phantom Blade Zero launch time

According to the PlayStation Store listing, Phantom Blade Zero unlocks at 7pm PT / 10pm ET on October 28, which is 2am UTC on October 29. Here's what that means in other regions:

UK and European times above reflect the clocks going back on October 25. S-GAME hasn't published a separate unlock time for Steam or the Epic Games Store, so we'll update this page if the PC launch time differs.

Watch the Phantom Blade Zero trailer

The 11-minute Pre-Order Trailer, released on August 11 on PlayStation's YouTube channel, is the best look at the finished game. It opens with Soul fending off pursuers from a speeding horse-drawn cart, then moves into a full boss fight against The Hunt, one of the game's main antagonists.

A week later, PlayStation aired a dedicated State of Play with nearly 20 minutes of new gameplay. It covered combat, exploration, character builds and side quests, and introduced several characters for the first time.

Phantom Blade Zero price and editions

Phantom Blade Zero comes in two editions on both PS5 and PC.

At $59.99, Phantom Blade Zero is $10 cheaper than most big PS5 releases, which typically launch at $69.99.

Preorder bonuses

Preordering either edition unlocks two items early:

• Treasure Basin: an accessory that increases Remnant Dust drops by 10%
• Legacy: an alternative outfit for Soul

S-GAME has confirmed that both items can also be earned through normal play, so you won't miss out permanently if you buy after launch.

Combat in Phantom Blade Zero is fast and acrobatic, with launchers, juggles and weapon swaps. Image: S-GAME

What is Phantom Blade Zero about?

You play as Soul, an elite assassin for a powerful organization called The Order. When the Order's leader is murdered, Soul is framed for the killing and left for dead with a grave wound to the heart.

He survives, but only just. Soul has 66 days to live, and he spends them hunted by his former comrades while trying to uncover the conspiracy behind the murder and clear his name.

The story takes place in the Phantom World, a dark version of the Wulin, the martial arts underworld of classic wuxia fiction. S-GAME describes the style as "kungfupunk": traditional Chinese martial arts mixed with industrial machinery and supernatural horror.

Donnie Yen's role in Phantom Blade Zero

Martial arts film star Donnie Yen has worked on Phantom Blade Zero as a creative consultant since 2023. As well as advising on combat choreography, he performed motion capture, facial capture and English voice work for the character Mó Yuan.

The action director is Kenji Tanigaki, a long-time collaborator of Yen's on films including the Rurouni Kenshin series.

The Phantom World mixes wuxia legend with supernatural enemies. Image: S-GAME

Phantom Blade Zero gameplay: how combat works

Phantom Blade Zero is a third-person action RPG built around fast, combo-driven melee combat. S-GAME has repeatedly said it is not a Soulslike. Fights are faster and more aggressive than in FromSoftware's games, closer in feel to Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, though bosses are still tough.

The core of the combat is a mix of light and heavy combos, dodging and parrying, with Soul able to swap weapons mid-combo. Many attack animations were motion captured with professional martial artists to make the fights feel like a kung fu film.

Weapons and Phantom Edges

Soul carries two types of weapon:

• Main weapons: more than 30 blades, from light swords to heavy two-handed sabres. Each has its own move set, which changes with its length and weight.
• Phantom Edges: more than 20 secondary weapons, including hammers, lances, bows and even cannons. They're used for special attacks, crowd control and punishing openings.

Weapons can be upgraded and paired with accessories to build around a particular style. A Reforge system lets you recover materials from gear you no longer use and put them into something new, so experimenting with builds isn't punished.

Phantom Edges are secondary weapons such as hammers, cannons and bows. Image: S-GAME

Bosses

Boss fights are the centrepiece of every trailer so far. The Pre-Order Trailer shows Soul against The Hunt, and the official screenshots include a towering masked boss that breathes fire and a horned demon fought beneath strings of red lanterns. For harder encounters, the State of Play confirmed you can summon help during some boss fights.

Bosses in Phantom Blade Zero are large, aggressive and heavily choreographed. Image: S-GAME

Exploration and side quests

Phantom Blade Zero isn't a fully open world. You explore large, interconnected regions packed with hidden paths, secrets and optional fights. Along the way, Soul meets characters who need help, and their side quests can open up new paths through the story.

Phantom Blade Zero difficulty options

Unlike most hardcore action games, Phantom Blade Zero lets you choose how hard it is. Confirmed difficulty settings include:

• Wayfarer: a story-focused mode for players who want to enjoy the world and combat without hitting a wall
• Hellwalker: harder fights with more advanced enemy AI
• Sixty-Six Days: the highest difficulty, named after Soul's countdown

The PS5 version also includes eight accessibility options, among them subtitle settings and adjustable difficulty.

Phantom Blade Zero offers difficulty options from story-focused Wayfarer to the brutal Sixty-Six Days mode. Image: S-GAME

How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

S-GAME has said the main story takes around 20 to 30 hours, with roughly 20 more hours of optional side content on top. That puts a full completion somewhere around 40 to 50 hours. Your time will depend heavily on which difficulty you choose.

Phantom Blade Zero PC system requirements

The PC requirements are surprisingly modest for an Unreal Engine 5 game. A GTX 1660 meets the minimum spec, though an SSD is required at every setting.

Both tiers assume you are using upscaling. For the extra graphics features, S-GAME lists an RTX 5060 for ray tracing and an RTX 5080 for full path tracing.

A few other PC details worth knowing before you buy:

• The Steam version uses Denuvo DRM.
• It supports Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud saves and Family Sharing.
• It's available in 15 languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
• Valve hasn't yet rated it for Steam Deck compatibility.

A rain-soaked duel showing the visual effects S-GAME has been polishing for launch. Image: S-GAME

Phantom Blade Zero on PS5 and PS5 Pro

Phantom Blade Zero is PS5 Pro Enhanced, using the extra GPU power for sharper visuals and better ray tracing while keeping performance smooth. On every PS5, it supports DualSense adaptive triggers and haptic feedback, plus 3D audio.

S-GAME has said the delay was partly about making the game look great without depending on ray tracing, so the base PS5 should benefit from the extra polish too.

Is Phantom Blade Zero coming to Xbox or Nintendo Switch 2?

Not at launch. Phantom Blade Zero is a console exclusive for PS5, with PC as the only other platform on day one.

Multiple outlets have reported that the console exclusivity runs for at least 12 months, which means an Xbox Series X|S version couldn't arrive before late 2027. S-GAME hasn't officially announced an Xbox or Nintendo Switch 2 version, but it has never ruled one out either.

Some retailer and fan sites list an Xbox version for October 29. That is incorrect.

Phantom Blade Zero is a single-player game for PS5 and PC. Image: S-GAME

Is there a Phantom Blade Zero demo?

There is no public demo. Hands-on builds were playable at trade shows, including Summer Game Fest, ChinaJoy, Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show. A PS5 demo was rumoured ahead of August's State of Play, but it wasn't announced and S-GAME hasn't mentioned one since.

Is Phantom Blade Zero worth preordering?

Interest is high. Phantom Blade Zero passed 3 million Steam wishlists in September, placing it among the most anticipated games of 2026.

The preorder bonuses are minor and can be earned in-game, so there's no real reason to rush. On PC, waiting for performance impressions on launch day is sensible, especially given the Denuvo DRM.

If you liked the combat in Black Myth: Wukong, Sekiro, Nioh or Stellar Blade, this is the action game to watch this month. It is also one of several big October releases, alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on October 23. Catch up on the rest of 2026's biggest launches in our Marvel's Wolverine release date guide and our Witcher 3 Remastered coverage.

Sources: PlayStation Blog, Steam and the PlayStation Store. All images courtesy of S-GAME.

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Phantom Blade Zero FAQ