{"id":1875821,"date":"2026-04-10T11:51:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875821"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:51:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:51:05","slug":"phantom-blade-zero-developer-rejects-gen-ai-and-promises-every-single-piece-of-content-in-our-game-has-been-crafted-by-the-hands-of-real-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1875821","title":{"rendered":"Phantom Blade Zero developer rejects gen-AI and promises &#8220;every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/phantom-blade-zero\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Phantom Blade 0<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Phantom Blade Zero developer rejects gen-AI and promises &#8220;every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;We decided to make a game that everyone here could be deeply proud of.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Phantom-Blade-Zero_fire-boss-fight.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Fire boss encounter in Phantom Blade Zero\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Phantom-Blade-Zero_fire-boss-fight.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>S-Game<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-04-10T11:51:05+00:00\">April 10, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/phantom-blade-zero-studio-rejects-generative-ai?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          4 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"d5b34f06-ee66-4d49-a0d7-3f8b8c9fa9a2\" data-name=\"Phantom Blade 0\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Phantom Blade 0\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Phantom Blade 0\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Phantom Blade 0\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Phantom Blade 0\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Phantom Blade 0\" title=\"Follow Phantom Blade 0\"><br \/>\n  Follow Phantom Blade 0<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Wuxia-inspired action game <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/phantom-blade-zero\">Phantom Blade Zero<\/a> is now in the final stages of development ahead of its launch later this year, and developer S-Game has released a statement about its stance regarding the use of generative AI in development.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are fully aware that a profound technological revolution is unfolding around us. 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&#8217; original creative intent,&#8221; said S-Game CEO Qiwei Liang, better known by his alias &#8216;Soulframe&#8217;, in a post shared <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/pbzero_official\/status\/2042420654960738477?s=20\">via the game&#8217;s official account on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Phantom Blade Zero - Official Release Date Trailer | The Game Awards 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f-9ax06lmnc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/f-9ax06lmnc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Phantom Blade Zero &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer | The Game Awards 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f-9ax06lmnc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figure>\n<p>This seems to apply to every aspect of the game, from the character models, which were built from 3D scans of the cast, to voice acting in Chinese and English &#8220;with full lip-syncing for both languages&#8221;. According to S-Game, even the weapons handled by the protagonist were forged by real swordsmiths before being put to good use in motion capture sessions.<\/p>\n<p>The attention to detail and authenticity extends to the environments too: &#8220;We also visited many stunning locations across China, from ancestral halls in Fujian to ancient towns in Zhejiang, and even old steel factories in Beijing. We scanned these places and reimagined them in unexpected combinations to build something truly original: the visual identity we created and defined as Kungfupunk.&#8221; The in-game maps, meanwhile, were hand-drawn using Chinese brushes and rice paper by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Beijing-based studio also underlined the team is now in the final stages of development, &#8220;pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities.&#8221; At the time of writing, Phantom Blade Zero is set to release on PS5 and PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store) on 9th September.<\/p>\n<p>As the controversial use of gen-AI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/owlcat-gen-ai-expanse-osiris-reborn\">becomes more commonplace in the industry<\/a>, it&#8217;s notable that S-Game is speaking out against it. In a rousing final statement, Liang said: &#8220;We firmly believe that human artistry is not merely a means for creating value; it is the value itself&#8230; S-Game didn&#8217;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Wuxia-inspired action game <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/phantom-blade-zero\">Phantom Blade Zero<\/a> is now in the final stages of development ahead of its launch later this year, and developer S-Game has released a statement about its stance regarding the use of generative AI in development.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are fully aware that a profound technological revolution is unfolding around us. 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&#8217; original creative intent,&#8221; said S-Game CEO Qiwei Liang, better known by his alias &#8216;Soulframe&#8217;, in a post shared <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/pbzero_official\/status\/2042420654960738477?s=20\">via the game&#8217;s official account on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Phantom Blade Zero - Official Release Date Trailer | The Game Awards 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f-9ax06lmnc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/f-9ax06lmnc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Phantom Blade Zero &#8211; Official Release Date Trailer | The Game Awards 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f-9ax06lmnc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figure>\n<p>This seems to apply to every aspect of the game, from the character models, which were built from 3D scans of the cast, to voice acting in Chinese and English &#8220;with full lip-syncing for both languages&#8221;. According to S-Game, even the weapons handled by the protagonist were forged by real swordsmiths before being put to good use in motion capture sessions.<\/p>\n<p>The attention to detail and authenticity extends to the environments too: &#8220;We also visited many stunning locations across China, from ancestral halls in Fujian to ancient towns in Zhejiang, and even old steel factories in Beijing. We scanned these places and reimagined them in unexpected combinations to build something truly original: the visual identity we created and defined as Kungfupunk.&#8221; The in-game maps, meanwhile, were hand-drawn using Chinese brushes and rice paper by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Beijing-based studio also underlined the team is now in the final stages of development, &#8220;pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities.&#8221; At the time of writing, Phantom Blade Zero is set to release on PS5 and PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store) on 9th September.<\/p>\n<p>As the controversial use of gen-AI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/owlcat-gen-ai-expanse-osiris-reborn\">becomes more commonplace in the industry<\/a>, it&#8217;s notable that S-Game is speaking out against it. In a rousing final statement, Liang said: &#8220;We firmly believe that human artistry is not merely a means for creating value; it is the value itself&#8230; S-Game didn&#8217;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Phantom Blade 0 Phantom Blade Zero developer rejects gen-AI and promises &#8220;every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists&#8221; &#8220;We decided to make a game that everyone here could be deeply proud of.&#8221; Image credit: S-Game News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on April [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1875821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1875821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1875821\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1875821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1875821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1875821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}