Despite massive pre-release sales in China, Phantom Blade Zero's success is proving to be worldwide following positive reviews.
When a major new AAA release comes out of China, gamers in the region have been massive supporters. We saw this with Black Myth: Wukong, which did incredibly well in its home country, and ahead of launch it was pretty much a given that Phantom Blade Zero would be the same. Anilea Analytics head of market analysis estimated that, ahead of launch, the game had already sold "well past" 1 million copies, with 62.5% of those sold at that point coming from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
However, following the game's release, Elliott has taken to Twitter to shut down the idea that it has only become a hit because of its home country. He notes, "Markets outside of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan account for 55% ($123M) of Phantom Blade Zero revenues across Steam and PlayStation."
Elliott notes that in August, when the pre-orders went live on Steam, China accounted for nearly 70% of the revenue, but as the game got closer to launch, the gap closed.
Phantom Blade Zero is only a hit because of China, right? Wrong, according to @alineaanalytics estimates. Markets outside of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan account for 55% ($123M) of Phantom Blade Zero revenues across Steam and PlayStation. Even when we remove revenues from these countries from the analysis, Phantom Blade Zero remains a top 20 new 2026 title by revenue across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. The China spring board helped, but a successful State of Play and – more importantly – positive reviews helped this one land in other markets. As we wrote back in August, China was always going to show up early for Phantom Blade Zero. Our daily Steam revenue data shows just that, and we can see when S-Game’s banging RPG won over players outside of China: - On the day Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam pre-order button went live in mid-August, China accounted for nearly 70% of Phantom Blade Zero’s Steam revenue. - The shares hovered around 68% throughout August. This is the hometown-hero effect we’ve covered in the past, with the home market committing first – almost sight unseen – on national pride and a lush-looking trailer alone. Then things get even more interesting. - Following the State of Play on August 18, US daily revenue more than doubled (from $72K to $146K), China’s daily take nearly quadrupled ($237K to $892K), and the rest of the world’s revenues also more than doubled. - As China spiked so much harder than the others, its share of revenue hardly moved, holding at around 68%. So the by-all-counts-awesome State of Play got non-China markets and the West interested (you can see daily spend jump), but it didn’t move the needle for overall revenue shares. - Positive reviews were the Western tipping point. US daily revenue went from $106K on October 25 to $230K when the embargo lifted on the 26th, to $463K on the 27th, to $899K on the 28th. So nearly 8.5x more revenue in four days, boosted by the positive reviews and subsequent word of mouth. - When Phantom Blade Zero launched on the 29th, things hit critical mass. On launch day, the US and the rest of the world combined out-earned China for the first time in Phantom Blade Zero’s whole pre-order history. You can see this unfolding pretty nicely in the revenue shifting shares, too. China’s lifetime revenue share sat at 68% in August and was still 65% as late as October 25th, but it dropped to 45% by November 2. Over that same period, the US nearly doubled its share from 10% to 18%, and the rest of the world climbed from 25% to 38%. That’s not to say that China sold less – far from it. The West and non-China markets just showed up later, won over by the reviews and word of mouth. But however you look at it, Phantom Blade Zero has quickly become one of this year’s highest-grossing premium games.November 3, 2026
Elliott notes that the tipping point came when Phantom Blade Zero reviews arrived with its positive reception, landing it as one of the best Metacritic scores of the year. Elliott notes that "US daily revenue went from $106K on October 25 to $230K when the embargo lifted," with the game amassing "nearly 8.5x more revenue in four days, boosted by the positive reviews and subsequent word of mouth."
"On launch day, the US and the rest of the world combined out-earned China for the first time in Phantom Blade Zero’s whole pre-order history" Elliott notes, citing that while the Chinese sales were still great, everywhere else just showed up a bit later, with a lack of what he calls the "hometown-hero effect" in play.
Granted, I don't really see why it would be a big deal if the game only did well because of Chinese players; sales in one region are still sales at the end of the day. As Elliott puts it: "However you look at it, Phantom Blade Zero has quickly become one of this year’s highest-grossing premium games."
Here's our list of 12 Phantom Blade Zero tips and have the solution to Phantom Blade Zero's Nimble Thief questions while you're at it!
