Less than 24 hours after its Steam launch, Phantasm Blade Zero peaked at over 700,000 concurrent players. S-GAME also simultaneously released its first major patch, approximately 5GB in size, focusing on improving performance on lower-end PCs, handhelds, and other less powerful hardware.
Kotaku ranked the title 15th on Steam's all-time list for peak concurrent players at launch, noting that its performance is not far behind records set by single-player games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Elden Ring. However, Shenzhen-based consultant Daniel Camilo pointed out that while Phantasm Blade Zero was highly anticipated by core gamers in China and globally, it has not yet entered the mainstream public consciousness as widely as Black MYTH - Steam Edition: Wukong did upon its release.
Phantasm Blade Zero is a "Kung Fu Punk" action RPG developed by the Chinese studio S-GAME, featuring a story campaign of roughly 30 hours. While initial concurrent player numbers have reached a high level, post-campaign player retention remains to be seen.
Regarding visuals and performance, S-GAME stated that even with ray tracing disabled, the adjusted rasterized graphics will strive to maintain the original artistic direction. If performance issues persist, the development team recommends players try rolling back to an older Nvidia driver version. Studio head and Creative Director Soulframe Liang also published an open letter to players, reflecting on how the project originated from his indie game experiences during his student years.