The action-RPG our editor was excited enough to fly to China for just got a 50-day delay

Upcoming “kungfupunk” action game Phantom Blade Zero was so good that our own Wes Fenlon didn’t even mind having to fly around the world to play it last August. “I don’t think a game has ever come close to letting you fight with that operatic flourish you see in great films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” said Wes in his Phantom Blade Zero preview, and sounded eager to play more.

Well, sorry Wes, but you’re gonna have to wait. Following the game’s appearance at yesterday’s Sony State of Play (an event that’s back to being largely irrelevant for you and I on PC), Phantom Blade Zero creator Soulframe took to X to announce that, sorry guys, it’s delayed from September 9 to October 29. Hey, it’s still just ducking that GTA 6 window.

“I want to offer my sincere apologies to all the players who have been following and supporting us,” wrote Soulframe. “We understand the expectations our players have placed on us. And precisely because of those expectations, we do not want to release Phantom Blade Zero knowing there is still an opportunity to take it one step further.”

Soulframe doesn’t explicitly say just what opportunity S-Game Studio has identified, but I get the impression it’s something to do with the game’s graphics tech: Soulframe discusses making sure “the core look, atmosphere, and intensity of Phantom Blade Zero come through at full force for as many players as possible” before moving onto the delay.

“A 50-day delay cannot solve everything. But it does give us enough time to complete a number of clearly defined and genuinely important improvements. These refinements will directly affect how the game feels when players first step into the world of Phantom Blade Zero.” Apparently, delivering these changes via post-launch patches wouldn’t have worked: “For the players who choose to join us on day one, we believe they deserve the best version of Phantom Blade Zero we can deliver from the very beginning.”

Which, hey, fine. 50 days isn’t all that much, and do I even have to recite the apocryphal Miyamoto quote now? A delayed game comes out, but a bad game sucks forever. I’ll always opt for the former.