We knew Phantom Blade Zero was hotly anticipated, but the opening numbers give a fairly striking sense of just how much buzz surrounds the game. After hitting 426,973 concurrent players in its first hour (it launched at 3am French time), the game sailed past 723,876 players on Steam a few hours later. That puts it behind Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, but ahead of heavyweights such as PUBG Battlegrounds, Apex Legends and even Cyberpunk 2077. S-Game's title now sits at the very top of SteamDB's trending games chart, in fact. And that's not all, because early player feedback has been glowing too. More than 10,000 reviews went up on Steam in the first few hours, with a positive rating of 79.63% according to figures from SteamDB. Players have been particularly keen on the combat system and the visual craft, two aspects that had already turned heads during the game's showings. The press has been even warmer, with a score of 88% on Metacritic and around 91% on OpenCritic. Some outlets, ourselves included, already see it as a serious contender for Game of the Year.
That said, these figures only cover Steam, and it's worth remembering that Phantom Blade Zero is also available on the Epic Games Store and PS5. Its total audience is therefore higher than Valve's numbers suggest, even if we don't yet have consolidated data to measure precisely how many people are playing across all platforms.
Can it dethrone Black Myth Wukong?
Inevitably, comparisons with Black Myth Wukong are unavoidable, especially since Chinese productions began making their mark on the international scene. But Game Science's game enjoyed an utterly extraordinary launch. Released on 20 August 2024, it topped 2.4 million concurrent players on Steam, with a historic peak of 2,415,714 players reached two days after launch. Across all platforms, its peak even hit 3 million players connected at the same time. Bonkers.
To put the gap in perspective, Phantom Blade Zero's current peak of over 460,000 players is roughly a fifth of Black Myth Wukong's Steam record. That's a considerable difference, though it doesn't mean S-Game's title is underperforming — quite the opposite, since it's doing far better than any other game released this year, and is in fact the biggest launch of 2026 on Steam so far. It's simply worth bearing in mind that Black Myth Wukong exceeded industry expectations on a scale rarely seen.
Two Chinese games, the same popular fervour
But looking beyond the numbers, the difference between the two productions also comes down to their place in Chinese popular culture. In an analysis published before Phantom Blade Zero's release, analyst Daniel Camilo argued that S-Game's title didn't enjoy the same level of name recognition as Black Myth Wukong, which had broken out beyond the usual gaming crowd to become a genuine social phenomenon in China. The game was known far outside the traditional video game audience, to the point of attracting people who don't normally buy big-budget PC or console releases. It must be said that Black Myth Wukong had a considerable ace up its sleeve. The game draws on Journey to the West, one of the great classics of Chinese literature, and stars the Monkey King, a character deeply rooted in the country's collective imagination. Its release took on a symbolic dimension, proving that a Chinese studio could deliver an ambitious action game capable of standing alongside the biggest international productions. The enthusiasm went well beyond mere commercial success, with huge mobilisation among Chinese players and exceptional global visibility.
Phantom Blade Zero arrives in a different context. Its kung-fu punk universe, dark aesthetic and highly technical combat give it a strong identity, but it speaks first and foremost to action game fans. It doesn't have the same connection to a cultural work as famous as Journey to the West, nor the same symbolic weight. That hasn't stopped it finding an international audience, but the two games don't set out with the same advantages when it comes to name recognition. And the landscape has shifted since 2024 where games from China are concerned. With Black Myth Wukong's success, ambitious Chinese productions are no longer seen as a curiosity. Players now know Chinese studios are capable of delivering top-quality games, and Phantom Blade Zero no longer has to carry that demonstration on its own. And when you consider that other titles such as Tides of Annihilation and Blood Message are also due to land next year in 2027, there's every chance we'll be talking again about China's clout in the global video game scene.
Can Phantom Blade Zero pass 10 million sales?
That's the question on everyone's lips now. Daniel Camilo reckons Phantom Blade Zero could shift 3 to 5 million copies in its first month, with the potential to pass 10 million further down the line. For now, Phantom Blade Zero's launch is particularly encouraging. Its Steam peak shows the game pulled in a sizeable community right out of the gate, and the early reviews give it solid ammunition to keep winning people over. The question is whether word of mouth will keep that momentum going and take it beyond fans of the genre. As for overtaking Black Myth Wukong, that's a far taller order, but Phantom Blade Zero doesn't need to replicate that run to be a huge hit. And besides, just between us, Phantom Blade Zero is already a total success — artistically, in terms of gameplay, and when it comes to sheer aura farming.
