Phantom Blade Zero is one of the most anticipated titles of the year, yet many gamers have doubted that the project’s huge ambition would lead to inevitable delays.
So, to silence the doubters and bring hope to all of us, developers THE GAME has moved forward to ensure that progress is on track for 2026, while at the same time shouldering the industry’s growing reliance on AI.
Handmade Art Over “AI Slop”
In a long and passionate post on X (formerly Twitter), S-GAME announced that the game is currently in the final stages of development. Now, the team is focused on pushing “all aspects of the game to the absolute limit of their capabilities,” reconfirming that players can expect a launch later this year.
However, the most prominent part of the update was the studio’s stance on the “profound technological revolution” currently unfolding. GAME has firmly stated that it prioritizes content designed by “the hands of real artists,” distancing itself from AI technology that could change the creative vision of a project.
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“We are fully aware that a profound technological revolution is taking place around us. However, until today, every part of the content in our game has been created by the hands of real artists,” the studio announced.
This alone has fueled speculation that they were heading there NVIDIA‘s DLSS 5that divided fans a few weeks ago. While S-GAME was previously listed as a technology partner, a preview of DLSS 5 on titles like Bad Need for Residents again Starfield was met with criticism, with some fans labeling the AI-enhanced visuals as “AI slop” that replaces the original art style.
GAME went on to elaborate on the hands-on work behind Phantom Blade Zero, revealing that the character models are built on high-fidelity 3D screens with full multi-lingual lip sync, the combat features motion capture from experienced martial artists, and the weapons are replicas of real Chinese weapons.
So, to silence the skeptics and bring hope to all of us, developer S-GAME has gone ahead to confirm that development is on track for 2026, while at the same time taking a keen interest in the industry’s growing reliance on AI.
And that’s not all: the team also traveled all over China, from the ancestral halls of Fujian to the ancient cities of Zhejiang, to scan real-world places and reimagine them into their unique visual identity, which they labeled “Kungfupunk,” which sounds very stylish, I must add.
Finally, to drive the point home, S-GAME revealed that even the game’s directional maps are completely human-made, taking the opportunity to confirm again that they do not use any AI-generated features.
“These are not AI-generated, and they are not digital drawings at all. They were drawn by hand using Chinese brushes and Xuan paper (rice paper),” they explained. “We firmly believe that human creativity is not just a way to create value; it is valuable in itself.”
That said, it certainly raises the question of whether S-GAME will remain NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 partner.
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Game mainstays include Devil May Cry, the Souls games, and Resident Evil.
