Ten days before Phantom Blade Zero launches on October 29, PCGamesN published an interview with director Soulframe Liang. The conversation did not stop at the game itself: the interviewer asked whether S-Game has plans for sequels, expansions, or anything beyond video games. (Steam's store page still lists an October 28 release date; the official announcements say October 29.)
The answer draws a clear but limited line. Ideas exist, but whether they move forward depends on how this game performs commercially. Merchandise is already happening. Animation and movies are only possibilities.
What follows sticks to what the studio has actually said and what has already shipped. Treating "we have ideas" as "a sequel is in development" goes beyond the official position. For players, the practical question is whether to expect more story after the credits, and the answer depends on a decision the studio has not made yet. The interview was published after a Beijing preview event, and it is the one that addresses what happens after launch.
The director's exact words: ideas exist, but the result comes first
The PCGamesN conversation took place during a studio visit in Beijing, on the same trip where the outlet played the game for six hours. The interviewer framed the question around the world S-Game had built: a complete, original fantasy setting that stands on its own in the modern action game space. That is what made the question about sequels and other media natural rather than premature.
Asked about sequels, expansions, and forms beyond games, Liang answered:
We already have some certain ideas and some things, but let's see the result of this work first, and that will decide what we proceed with.
He then supplied the criterion behind that sequencing: he wants Phantom Blade Zero to be popular and to do well commercially before committing to anything else. That is neither "we will think about it after shipping" nor "a sequel has been greenlit." It ties any next step to the performance of this release.
On formats beyond games, his wording is just as conditional:
Now we are doing merchandise, and in the future, it's possible that we [could] make some animations and even movies around it. It's a great topic, and we would love to take our time to develop the whole universe into an original, great IP.
Three details are easy to misread. First, merchandise is present tense, not a future plan. Second, animation and movies both sit behind "it's possible"; there is no timetable, no partner, and no platform. Third, the interviewer grouped sequels, expansions, and beyond-game projects into one question, and Liang answered with "some certain ideas and some things" as a collective phrase. He did not confirm which category is actively moving, and the article does not separate a sequel from an expansion at any point.
What "the result" means: the numbers that are public
Using commercial performance as a gate is not just polite phrasing. Before launch, three market signals can be checked publicly.
The first is wishlists. On September 17, 2026, S-GAME announced that Phantom Blade Zero had surpassed three million wishlists across all platforms. This was an official milestone, and the wording was "surpassed," meaning three million is a floor. The studio did not break the figure down by platform.
The second is chart position. In the first full tracking week after pre-orders opened in August (August 11 to 18), SteamDB's global Steam bestseller chart, ranked by revenue, placed Phantom Blade Zero first. Pre-order revenue counts toward that weekly chart, so the position reflects spending before release rather than sales of an unlocked game.
The third is a third-party estimate. In its September 29 newsletter, Alinea Analytics estimated roughly 386,000 Steam pre-orders and about $18.5 million in revenue. The same analyst had put the first week of pre-orders at about 300,000 copies and $14.5 million on August 20, and its September note also derived a 16% conversion rate from wishlists to pre-orders. Those figures are an analyst's model, not an S-GAME disclosure. The August and September snapshots measure the same pre-order window at two different dates rather than two separate sales bursts.
The three signals are different in kind: an official wishlist figure, a verifiable chart position, and a third-party sales estimate. None of them is S-Game's own scorecard. The chart position is the easiest to reproduce independently, while the wishlist figure depends on the studio's announcement and the sales estimate depends on an outside model. They describe pre-launch momentum, but they do not translate directly into first-month sales, and they cannot be used to predict whether a sequel gets approved.
For context on the stakes, S-Game was founded in 2011 and had mainly worked on smaller games and mobile titles before this project; Phantom Blade Zero is its first Unreal Engine 5 game, as our development feature notes. That history is why the director frames the next step as a threshold rather than a schedule.
Merchandise is already ahead: five official lines
When Liang says "now we are doing merchandise," he is describing something concrete. By mid-October, five officially licensed lines had reached sale or pre-order.
GameSir controllers. The global model is the G7 Pro 8K PC Phantom Blade Zero Edition; the China edition is sold as「天王星8K《影之刃零》联名款」, with no official English name published. The mainland China official channels priced it at 549 yuan through JD.com and Tmall, and the cited report confirms it is not compatible with Xbox consoles. Overseas pricing and release timing were not announced. See our GameSir controller report.
Flydigi controllers. Two models went on sale on September 16: the Direwolf 4 Phantom Blade Zero gift box at 249 yuan, sold directly, and the Apex 6 Pro Phantom Blade Zero Edition at 899 yuan as a pre-order. See our Flydigi controller report.
VITURE XR glasses. Phantom Beast was announced on August 27 at $599, with pre-orders on VITURE's website and shipping set for October 29, the same day as the game. See our Phantom Beast XR glasses report.
INART statues. At WF2026 Shanghai on October 3 and 4, the Queen Studios and INART joint booth showed a 1:1 bust and a 1:3 full-body statue of Soul for the first time, both supervised through several rounds by S-Game's art team. Price, release date, and pre-order method had not been announced. See our INART statue report.
ROG PC gear. On October 17, ASUS opened pre-orders at Best Buy for four pieces of the ROG Phantom Blade Zero Edition collection: the Strix Morph 96 Wireless keyboard and Harpe II Ace mouse at $169.99 each, the Delta II headset at $269.99, and a keycap set at $69.99. The Strix XG27UCGR-G monitor is not part of that pre-order group; it is listed for order in November 2026.
All five are licensed products: outside manufacturers build them, while S-Game licenses the IP and supervises the work. That is not the same as S-Game developing a sequel or producing an animated series itself. But it is exactly what the director means by merchandise "now," and it shows the IP extending beyond the screen before the first game even launches. Their status also differs: GameSir and Flydigi are already on sale, VITURE and ROG are taking pre-orders, and INART has not announced a price.
Animation has a foundation: a 2D segment is already in the game
Animation has slightly more observable evidence than the other directions.
During his first six hours with the game, the PCGamesN writer saw a 2D animated segment. He described it as a gorgeous break from the rest of the game's intensely cinematic style but said he could not divulge details. Liang brought the subject up himself in the interview:
You have seen some 2D animations in the game, right? We have other 2D animations in the Year of Dragon celebration [trailer] from two years ago. So before, we've made some very high-quality 2D animation. So maybe it's also possible.
That supports a narrow but real conclusion: the team has used 2D animation inside the game and in a promo trailer, so the capability and material exist. It does not support "an animated project is underway." There is no studio, no distributor, no episode count or runtime, and no release window. Nor has S-Game described animation as a greenlit project.
The PCGamesN writer added his own view that the world would suit an animated series because it is stylish, visually distinct, and full of drama. That is the outlet's judgment, not a statement from S-Game, and it does not change the status of any project. The distinction between the two examples Liang gave also matters: a celebration trailer is marketing material, while the in-game segment is part of the product itself. For players hoping for an adaptation, the most useful evidence would be how complete that in-game 2D segment feels. PCGamesN declined to describe it, so until October 29 the public record remains simply that the segment exists.
What is confirmed, and what is not
Confirmed:
- Five officially licensed merchandise lines are on sale or pre-order: GameSir, Flydigi, VITURE, INART, and ROG.
- The game contains a 2D animated segment, and the team has produced 2D animation for a trailer before.
- Phantom Blade Zero launches on PS5 and PC on October 29, 2026.
Not confirmed:
- A sequel or expansion's title, platforms, release timing, or whether either is in development.
- An animation or film's format, partner, schedule, or whether it will be made at all.
- Any post-launch content plan.
Liang's own wording leaves the decision to this game's commercial performance, a question that will only begin to have an answer after October 29. An actual greenlight would come with a name, a format, a partner, or a date; none of those exists in any official channel. Until then, the official position is exactly this: ideas exist, the result comes first, merchandise is happening, and animation or film is possible.