THE CRUNCH
Phantom Blade Zero is still days from release, but analyst estimates suggest it is already a commercial force on Steam. According to figures scrutinised by Alinea Analytics head of market analysis Rhys Elliott, the Chinese action game has sold an estimated 500,000 copies through Steam pre-orders, generating roughly $24m in revenue ahead of its launch on 28th October for PS5 and PC.
Elliott's estimates also point to unusually broad interest: the game has amassed 2.5 million Steam wishlists, and 41 percent of wishlisters have played Black Myth Wukong, while 38 percent have played Elden Ring and 28 percent Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
China is currently the game's top market, and Elliott noted it was outperforming Gears of War: E-Day and Control Resonant on Steam at the time of writing. He also said pre-launch signals point to the game being popular on PS5, and suggested it has the potential to be one of the year's breakout single-player hits.
The figures arrive amid a broader boom for China's games industry, with an increasing number of releases from Chinese developers launching to critical and commercial success worldwide.