Phantom Blade Zero Tops Steam Charts Amid Shift in Chinese Game Market

Chinese journalists have accused western studios of releasing “garbage games” and urged them to take inspiration from Phantom Blade Zero, which became Steam’s biggest release of 2026.

Phantom Blade Zero delivers high-quality gameplay, offers striking graphics even without ray tracing, and demonstrates strong performance on Unreal Engine 5. This approach has resonated well with audiences.

Developed by S-Game, the title set a 2026 Steam record for peak concurrent players with over 720,000 users. Meanwhile, its user rating continues to climb and currently stands at 86% positive reviews.

IGN China journalists commented on the success by sharply criticizing the western gaming industry:

It is time for Chinese developers to teach a lesson to their western colleagues, who are bogged down in stagnation, have become hostages to political correctness, and churn out successive garbage games. It is time to let creators from China remind them how to make quality products and what content-rich AAA games should look like.

IGN China awarded Phantom Blade Zero a maximum score of 10/10.

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