Phantom Blade Zero: Release Date, Price, Editions, PC Specs and Everything We Know

Updated October 3, 2026. Phantom Blade Zero launches on October 29, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and PC, after a 50-day delay from its original September 9 date. The Standard Edition costs $59.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition costs $69.99. Below you will find the editions, the pre-order bonus, the official PC system requirements, what the game actually is, and what you should know before your first session.

Phantom Blade Zero release date and platforms

The confirmed launch date is Thursday, October 29, 2026. S-Game originally set September 9, 2026, a date it announced at The Game Awards in December 2025, then pushed the game back by 50 days in June 2026. GameSpot, the PlayStation Blog and the official PlayStation product page all list October 29.

S-Game CEO and director Soulframe Liang framed the delay as polish rather than rescue. According to GamingBolt's report of his statement, the team upgraded character models and reworked environments, and said it did not want to release "knowing there is still an opportunity to take it one step further."

One small note for PC players: at the time of writing, Steam's store data shows the date as October 28. That is most likely a time zone display issue for an October 29 launch in Asia, but S-Game has not published an exact global unlock time, so check the store page closer to launch.

Which platforms?

• PlayStation 5 (listed as PS5 Pro Enhanced on the PlayStation Store page)
• PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store
• Xbox Series X|S: not announced. Several outlets report a 12-month PlayStation console exclusivity window, but treat any Xbox date as speculation until S-Game confirms one.

It is one of the biggest action releases on our October 2026 release calendar, landing in an already crowded month.

Price, editions and pre-order bonus

There are two editions at launch on both PS5 and PC. Prices below are the US list prices shown on the PlayStation Store and Steam; GAMINGbible lists the UK prices as £54.99 and £64.99.

Is the pre-order bonus worth it?

Not really a reason to pre-order on its own. The PlayStation Blog states that both the Treasure Basin accessory and the Legacy outfit are early unlocks that can also be obtained through normal progression. The PlayStation Store describes Treasure Basin as increasing Remnant Dust drops by 10%, which is handy early on, but you lose nothing permanent by waiting for reviews.

The Deluxe Edition's extras are cosmetic outfits plus an artbook and soundtrack. If you do not care about the two extra appearances, the Standard Edition gives you the identical game.

Physical copies and collector's edition

So far, only digital pre-orders have been promoted for the global launch, and Push Square noted that no physical edition was announced during the August State of Play. GAMINGbible reports a China-only Collector's Edition with an action figure and art book. A wider physical release has not been confirmed either way.

PC system requirements

S-Game has published two tiers, and both appear on the Steam store page. Note that both targets assume upscaling is enabled, and an SSD is required even at minimum settings. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5 and requires DirectX 12.

What the specs actually mean

• The GPU bar is low, the CPU bar is not. A GTX 1660 is a 2019 card, but the minimum CPU is still a six-core chip. Older quad-cores are below spec.
• "With upscaling" matters. Both targets are rendered below native resolution and upscaled, so a native 1440p/60 FPS experience will need more than an RTX 3060 Ti.
• No high-end or 4K tier yet. S-Game has not published an ultra or ray tracing tier. The studio has said ray tracing is supported but that it worked to keep the game looking good without it. If you are shopping for a card for this and other big releases, see our best graphics cards for 4K gaming guide.
• Install size has not been announced on the Steam page at the time of writing.

What is Phantom Blade Zero?

Phantom Blade Zero is a third-person action RPG from Chinese studio S-Game, built in Unreal Engine 5. Sony's product page calls it a "dark wuxia action RPG", and S-Game uses its own label, "Kungfupunk", for the mix of traditional martial arts with punk and fantasy styling. The setting, the Phantom World, draws on Ming Dynasty China blended with dark fantasy, steampunk and horror elements.

The story: Soul and his 66 days

You play Soul, an elite assassin. The official description introduces him as "a swordsman with a wounded heart and only sixty-six days left to live." Framed for the murder of his master, Soul has to fend off assassins and uncover a conspiracy that threatens the martial world.

The game is a standalone story. Director Soulframe Liang has described it as a spiritual rebirth of his older Rainblood games, but no prior knowledge of that series is needed.

Donnie Yen's involvement

Martial arts film star Donnie Yen provided the likeness and motion capture for Mó Yuan, Soul's father, and has served as a creative consultant on the game since 2023, according to S-Game via GameSpot. That fits the game's focus on choreographed, film-style fights captured with motion capture.

Combat and gameplay systems

Combat is the headline. Per the official PlayStation page, there are 30+ primary weapons and 20+ Phantom Edges, the game's secondary weapons, with combos designed to be "easy to learn yet rewarding to master."

• Loadout: you carry two primary weapons and two Phantom Edges, swapping between them mid-fight.
• Defense: blocking, parrying and dodging all feature, plus a repositioning move.
• Progression: a skill tree and weapon upgrades, with buildcrafting a focus of the August State of Play.
• World structure: a semi-open world rather than a fully open map, according to developer interviews.
• Bosses: developer interviews reported by Wccftech say that if you die in the second phase of a boss fight, you restart from that phase, not from the beginning. A boss-rush mode for replaying bosses has also been reported.

If you are coming from Sekiro or Black Myth: Wukong, expect a similarly boss-focused, timing-heavy action game, though the developer has said it is not trying to make another Dark Souls clone. Our list of games like Elden Ring covers more of the genre if you want something to play while you wait.

Difficulty modes, including 66 Days

The August 17 State of Play deep dive confirmed four difficulty options, reported by GamingBolt and Push Square:

1. Wayfarer: the cinematic, accessible mode, pitched so anyone can feel like a kung fu master.
2. Pathbreaker: the middle option.
3. Hellwalker: high difficulty, where bosses adapt to your tactics and heavily punish mistakes.
4. 66 Days: Hellwalker-level difficulty where each death reduces Soul's remaining lifespan counter. When it reaches zero, the playthrough ends for good.

66 Days is a permadeath mode with a buffer rather than one-life-only, which makes it far less punishing than classic permadeath. Still, it is clearly meant for a second run, not a first one.

How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

S-Game has not published an official length on its store pages. In interviews with Chinese outlets, reported by GamingBolt in January 2025, the studio said the main story takes around 20 to 30 hours, with about 20 more hours of side content. Other outlets have rounded this to 30 to 40 hours.

Treat these numbers as estimates from development, not a final figure. The game was delayed and reworked after those interviews, and playtime always depends heavily on difficulty. Expect more reliable completion times once reviews and player data arrive after October 29.

Reporting on the game also says side quests feed into the main story and lead to multiple endings. S-Game has not detailed how many endings are on the final release, so we are not quoting a number here.

Is there a demo?

Not officially. A demo listing briefly appeared on the Chinese PlayStation Store in August before being taken down, but the August 17 State of Play did not announce or release one. As of this update, S-Game has not confirmed a demo or a date. If you want to judge the game before buying, your best options are the State of Play gameplay footage and launch reviews.

What to know before playing

• Do not pre-order for the bonus. The Treasure Basin accessory and Legacy outfit can be earned in-game anyway. Waiting for reviews and PC performance reports costs you nothing but a few days.
• Check PC performance first. Both official spec targets rely on upscaling, and Unreal Engine 5 games have a mixed launch track record on PC. Watch for day-one performance reports before buying on a borderline system.
• Install on an SSD. It is a hard requirement, not a suggestion.
• Pick difficulty honestly. Wayfarer is fine for story-focused players. Save 66 Days for a second playthrough.
• Do side quests. They reportedly influence the main story and endings, so rushing the critical path could change your outcome.
• No series homework needed. It is a standalone story; you do not need to play the older Rainblood games.
• PS5 or PC? The PS5 version supports DualSense haptics, adaptive triggers and 3D audio, and is PS5 Pro Enhanced. On PC you need at least the minimum spec above. If you are weighing subscriptions around this launch, note that the game is not announced for any subscription service; our Game Pass vs PlayStation Plus comparison covers what those services do offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources checked on October 3, 2026 against the official PlayStation Store and PlayStation.com product pages, the PlayStation Blog, the Steam store page, and S-Game statements reported by GameSpot and GamingBolt.