Phantom Blade Zero reportedly got ‘substantial’ investment due to Black Myth: Wukong’s success
It’s claimed that Chinese investors now believe AAA gaming is “the new golden egg”
Phantom Blade Zero received “substantial” new investment following the success of Black Myth: Wukong, it’s claimed.
Black Myth: Wukong has been a huge commercial success since it was released last year, selling over 20 million copies across PC and PS5 in its first month and attracting over 1.44 million concurrent players on Steam withing days of release.
According to China-based publisher and gaming consultant Daniel Camilo, who cites two developers who worked on the game, the release of Wukong led to Phantom Blade Zero developer S-GAME receiving extra funding from investors keen to capitalise on the apparent growth of Chinese-developed video games.
“To be clear, the success of Wukong did not by itself trigger all funding for Phantom Blade Zero,” Camilo wrote in a thread on X. “Phantom Blade Zero was [already] very advanced in development once Wukong launched.
“The tremendous success of Wukong in China in particular signaled to many investors that AAA gaming is the new golden egg. Many studios saw investments coming their way after Wukong released. This is not news.
“What is news is that Phantom Blade Zero did get a substantial amount of extra investments and funding thanks to the success of Wukong, allegedly. Both my sources agree that even before the actual release of Wukong, S-GAME got new funding thanks to all the hype/metrics surrounding Wukong.”
Phantom Blade 0 received funding thanks to Black Myth Wukong’s success.
According to two different sources who worked in the development of the game for S-Game (studio ) that I talked to directly, this is the case.
Details and clarifications in 🧵… pic.twitter.com/0MmQhBMkwo
— Daniel Camilo (@DanielOlimac) January 21, 2025
The claim comes as developer S-GAME released another trailer for Phantom Blade Zero, showing combat against multiple opponents, as well as a brief look at the game’s boss fights.
Phantom Blade Zero is planned for release later this year, but a release date has yet to be announced. The game is planned for PC and PS5, and will support PS5 Pro.
“S-GAME is kicking off 2025 with this Year of the Snake Trailer, showcasing significant upgrades in visual quality – textures, models, and lighting – designed to meet true next-generation standards,” the studio said in a press release.
“The PS5 version runs smoothly and stably while supporting enhanced visuals on the PS5 Pro.”
“Our journey into action design and combat mechanics in PBZ has reached a ‘deep water’ phase,” said Will Chen, the game’s head of publishing. “At this stage, creating the action game we envision requires us to move beyond existing game references.
“Instead, we’ve drawn inspiration from Hong Kong martial arts films of the 1980s and 1990s, alongside the traditional techniques and philosophies of Chinese martial arts.”
S-GAME is a Bejing-based developer founded in 2011. Phantom Blade Zero is the developer’s second game, following free-to-play side-scrolling title Phantom Blade: Executioners.
