Phantom Blade Zero Pre-Orders Open, State of Play Set for August 18
The dedicated State of Play segment gives S-GAME a full 20-minute platform to showcase an unrevealed story character and the build system, marking the final marketing push before the October 29 launch.
Reporting from 5 sources: 4Gamer.net, GAME Watch (Impress), Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, and 1 more.
S-GAME opened pre-orders for Phantom Blade Zero on August 12, 2026, across PlayStation Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store. The dark martial arts action-adventure game launches October 29, 2026, for PS5 and PC, with the standard edition priced at 8,580 yen on Steam. A pre-order trailer running about 11 minutes also debuted, showing combat scenes including a fight on a moving carriage and a duel with the protagonist's father, Mo Yuan. The trailer's final moments reveal Mo Yuan, performed by Donnie Yen, who has served as the game's creative consultant since 2023, providing expertise in martial arts and action film production, and acting as the facial and motion capture actor for the character. PlayStation announced a dedicated State of Play broadcast featuring Phantom Blade Zero on August 18 at 11:00 AM JST, running about 20 minutes. The program will introduce an unrevealed character central to the story and detail how player builds create varied combat styles. The game was originally scheduled for September 9, 2026, before being delayed to October 29.
The pre-order trailer opens with protagonist Soul fighting while holding the reins of a moving carriage, a disadvantageous position that sets the tone for the extended combat footage. Later scenes show encounters with enemies featuring circular-saw-like heads and opponents emitting green auras, before the trailer ends with a one-on-one duel against Mo Yuan, whose attack pattern overwhelms Soul. The reason for their fight is not yet disclosed.
Donnie Yen, known for roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and John Wick: Chapter 4, has been involved with the project since 2023. S-GAME founder and CEO Soulframe Liang detailed Yen's contributions alongside the announcement, confirming his role in combat design and his performance as Mo Yuan through facial and motion capture. The game's development was declared complete on August 6, following its delay from the original September 9 date.
The State of Play broadcast will cover the combat system, which combines over 30 main weapons with more than 20 special armaments. Pre-order bonuses include early access to the Treasure Basin accessory and the Legacy costume, both obtainable through normal gameplay progression.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- 4Gamer.net ダーク武侠アクション「Phantom Blade Zero」，予約受付開始＆最新トレイラー公開。8月18日の「State of Play」における特集も決定
- GAME Watch (Impress) ダーク武侠アクションアドベンチャー「Phantom Blade Zero」予約開始！ 11分のトレーラーも公開
- Automaton PS5/PC注目の大型新作『Phantom Blade Zero』、「11分てんこ盛り」トレイラーお披露目。長尺戦闘シーンやストーリーがっつり公開、予約受付も開始
- Denfaminicogamer 『Phantom Blade Zero』を特集した「State of Play」が8月18日午前11時に放送決定。ゲームプレイの詳しい紹介と物語の中心を担う“未公開キャラクター”が登場へ
- Game Spark 期待の大作ダーク武侠アクション『Phantom Blade Zero』新トレイラー！ドニー・イェン演じる父との決戦など11分にもおよぶバトル満載映像