Phantom Blade Zero launches Oct 28; preload needs 300GB free

Phantom Blade Zero, the wuxia action game from developer S-Game, launches worldwide at 7 PM PDT on October 28, which is already October 29 in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Preloading is live on Steam, and reviews so far are positive.

PC Gamer lists the launch times as 10 PM EDT on October 28, 2 AM GMT and 3 AM CEST on October 29, 1 PM AEST on October 29, and 3 PM NZDT on October 29. The release is simultaneous around the globe. PC Gamer’s writer, who has played the game for a couple of weeks, calls it the best action game of the year, if not of the past few years. GamesRadar’s review calls it “a GOTY contender with combat that looks as good as it feels”, and says the early Metacritic score puts it among the top action games of 2026.

Storage requirements

The sources give different install sizes. PC Gamer puts the game at 135GB. Rock Paper Shotgun cites S-Game’s preload guide and system requirements and gives 145GB, adding that an SSD is required to run it at all.

According to Rock Paper Shotgun, the guide asks for 300GB of free space during preloading. The guide says this is because “temporary files and the complete game must coexist during the unlock process”, and that storage use drops to roughly 145GB once the process finishes. Rock Paper Shotgun criticized the requirement as excessive. Its deputy editor suggested it is probably down to how Unreal Engine 5 handles updates. The updated system requirements are on the Steam page.

Where the game came from

In a message to fans, creative director and S-Game CEO “Soulframe” Liang said he finished his first indie game, Rainblood: Town of Death, twenty years ago as a student. He made it in RPG Maker as a hobby. It introduced the Phantom World, a setting rooted in traditional Chinese wuxia with elements such as body modification and parallel worlds. GamesRadar notes the original is still sold on GamersGate for $7.

Liang has previously called Phantom Blade Zero a “spiritual rebirth” of Rainblood. He says the studio canceled its other projects and “kept expanding the scale of production” for this one. “Making games is not always a rational pursuit,” he said. “Sometimes, it is passion and a little madness that give a game its richest flavor.”

Why it matters

GamesRadar reports that Rainblood grew into a franchise with some 20 million fans, though many of its games were never released outside China. Phantom Blade Zero is aimed at a far more global audience than those titles. GamesRadar also says analysts suspect it has passed 1 million copies sold before launch. That figure is an analyst estimate, not an announced number.

For PC players, the practical question before launch night is disk space. With a 135GB to 145GB install and a reported 300GB preload requirement, anyone planning to preload needs to clear room first.