Game director Qiwei "Soulframe" Liang said the shift was not built around dodging a crowded September or worrying about a November clash with GTA 6. He framed the decision as almost entirely about finishing the game.
We don't think about any of this. We only think of the quality of the product itself.
Only the product itself matters. So I would say 99 percent of the decision [was about] development.
When asked whether releasing so close to GTA 6 was intimidating, Liang said he had no firm read on that and pointed to polish as the priority, noting that one or two extra months could mean more bug fixes and optimization and less reliance on a large day one patch.
Phantom Blade Zero is also set for a dedicated PlayStation State of Play showcase later this summer, with 15 to 20 minutes of new footage planned ahead of the October 29 launch.
