Phantom Blade Zero reached 723,876 concurrent players on Steam a few hours after it launched on October 29, GameSpot reports. Critics rate it 88 on Metacritic and 91 on OpenCritic.
S-Game's action game is out now on PC and PS5. It's the studio's first console release.
What critics are saying
The 88 on Metacritic applies to both the PS5 and PC versions, according to TheGamer's review roundup. That puts it above two other 2026 action games, Nioh 3 at 86 and Onimusha: Way of the Sword at 85.
Most reviews are strongly positive. IGN gave it a 9/10, and DualShockers gave it a 9.5/10. TheGamer gave it 5/5. Eurogamer is the low outlier with a 6/10. Its reviewer praised the animation and environments but criticized the early boss fights and called the story "pretty unremarkable."
How well is Phantom Blade Zero selling?
Market research firm Alinea Analytics estimates the game pre-sold 850,000 digital copies on Steam and PS5 before launch, for about $43 million in revenue.
By Alinea's estimate, about 62.5% of those pre-launch copies were sold in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Its figures don't include Tencent's WeGame store in China.
About the game
Phantom Blade Zero is a martial arts action game set in a world inspired by Chinese folklore. Its fight scenes were choreographed by Donnie Yen.
In a launch-day letter quoted by GameSpot, creative director Soulframe Liang called it "a gift from a small group of gamers who just happen to be developers."