Just a few weeks remain before the dark kung-fu action RPG Phantom Blade Zero arrives on PlayStation5 and PC. Set to launch on October 28, this title is crafted by and published from the Beijing-based studio S-Game.
Unlike earlier installments in the series, Phantom Blade Zero is a high-budget 3D production boasting realistic visuals, aligning with other Chinese AAA successes such as Black Myth: Wukong. Despite its grand scope, the developers insist the game retains its indie origins.
In a recent conversation with Korean outlet Inven Global, Soulframe, CEO of S-Game and creator of the Phantom Blade series, shared insights into the challenges of moving from mobile development to crafting an AAA console game.
Creating a 3D triple-A game in Unreal Engine 5 marks a first for S-Games, and Soulframe notes that development posed difficulties across all areas. It’s likely that when the project began, there were few domestic developers with experience in making their own AAA 3D games, forcing S-Games to construct everything from the ground up, aided by Chinese companies primarily handling outsourced work for Western and Japanese studios.
“Everything was new, and we had to find novel solutions to bring our vision to life. We also hired very young developers. We assigned critical tasks, such as the final boss or the opening sequence, to individuals fresh out of school who had no prior experience with a project of this magnitude,” Soulframe remarks.
Despite the studio’s leap into AAA development, its core principles remain rooted in indie practices. Soulframe believes this “indie spirit” was instrumental in bringing Phantom Blade Zero to fruition.
“Some people wonder if Phantom Blade Zero is an indie game. Judging by scale alone, it’s hard to label it as such. It’s a project with a significant budget. However, in spirit, I consider it an indie game. That’s because we maintain a mindset of embracing new, extreme challenges and aren’t afraid to break conventional boundaries,” he stated.
The world and lore of Phantom Blade initially emerged from an indie project, Rainblood: Town of Death, an RPGMaker game released in 2010. According to Soulframe, the IP, which he began as a student, was refined and expanded over more than 20 years, culminating in the Phantom Blade Zero project.
Phantom Blade Zero launches on October 28 for PC (Steam/Epic Games Store) and PS5.