Phantom Blade Zero Director Recalls PlayStation’s Shocked Reaction When They Presented It
Back in 2023, Sony presented a new State of Play that featured some of the games headed to the PS5 in the future. While Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was the big draw of the show, an action game by relatively unknown developer S-Game stole the show.
S-Game, a Chinese studio that worked on mobile games, came out of nowhere to wow PlayStation fans with the reveal of Phantom Blade Zero.
It seems there weren’t initially any plans to include Phantom Blade Zero in the show, but it impressed PlayStation executives enough that they wanted to feature it.
Phantom Blade Zero’s Presentation Was So Impressive, It Made a PlayStation Exec Go “Holy S***!”
S-Game founder and Phantom Blade Zero director Liang Qiwei, also known as “Soulframe,” recalls the time when they presented the game to Sony.
Qiwei mentioned how the initial showing was pretty much normal when a dev shows a game off in an interview. “So we were two guys, very young guys with fresh faces, and we just walked into the executive conference of PlayStation. We just met a business guy. We showed him this mockup, a very rough mockup compared to what you see now. So that guy was impressed,” Qiwei said.
Luckily for S-Game, the meeting didn’t end there, as two PlayStation execs, Shuhei Yoshida, and Christian Svensson (VP, Head of 2nd/3rd Party Content Ventures & Strategic Initiatives at Sony Interactive Entertainment) were in on the pitch too, and they were impressed.
Qiwei added, “So, very luckily, Christian [Svensson] and Shuhei Yoshida and all the big guys are beside our table. So the business guy called all of them to come by to watch the trailer, and Christian said, ‘Holy shit! Who are you? This is so impressive,’ and so they invited us to join their showcase in 2023.”
That 2023 showcase was the first time S-Game had been involved in a show as big, and that’s when Phantom Blade Zero gained worldwide attention.
I guess this is one of those times where the stars and planets align and we’re all for it. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Phantom Blade Zero looks to deliver an action game unlike any other.
In other Phantom Blade Zero news, Soulframe has confirmed that defeated enemies won’t respawn, and weapon upgrades can be reset at any time too.
Phantom Blade Zero is set for release on October 29 on the PS5 and PC.
Save 5% on your next top-up, games, gift cards, and virtual currency at Eneba.
Use code MP1ST5 at checkout.
This website contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support our work. Learn more on our affiliate page.
