Phantom Blade Zero is out later this year, and Chinese developer S-Game Studio is trying to distance itself from the genAI debate after the action-RPG appeared on a list of games supporting Nvidia’s controversial new DLSS 5 upscaling tech. The studio declared it won’t be using AI that could get in the way of artistic intent after DLSS 5 was widely mocked by players for giving NPCs yassified “slopface.”
“We are fully aware that a profound technological revolution is unfolding around us,” the Phantom Blade Zero account wrote in a statement on X on April 10. “However, to this day, every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists. We will not use AI visual tech that could alter our artists’ original creative intent.”
S-Game outlined details of Phantom Blade‘s development that ground it in the real world rather than AI hallucinations. That includes character models built upon 3D scans of the game’s cast, “meticulously refined” voice acting in Chinese and English, and even weapon replicas forged by actual blacksmiths.
Phantom Blade Zero looks on the surface like just another grimdark Souls-like, but part of what’s helped it capture the imagination of players leading up to its September 6 launch is an emphasis on arcade action based around “authentic kung fu techniques” and traditional swordplay. The result is a big arsenal of weapons and bespoke combos for each.
While G-Studio doesn’t call out Nvidia or DLSS 5 by name, it’s hard to interpret the statement as anything but the team distancing itself from a recent tech demo that caused a massive backlash online. While Phantom Blade Zero wasn’t shown off using DLSS 5 by Nvidia, it was listed in a blog post as one of the upcoming games that would support it. The feature is planned to eventually be available to anyone with a GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card.
“We firmly believe that human artistry is not merely a means for creating value; it is the value itself. S-GAME didn’t just hire a group of developers to make a game; rather, in our pursuit of continuously building an exceptional, passionate team, we decided to make a game that everyone here could be deeply proud of,” its statement continued.
