Phantom Blade Zero is Steam's biggest launch of the year so far, selling over 4 million copies in three days

eurogamer.net Nov 2, 2026

Phantom Blade Zero is Steam’s biggest launch of the year so far, selling over 4 million copies in three days

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Nov 2, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

S‑Game’s debut title Phantom Blade Zero has sold more than 4 million copies within its first 72 hours, according to the studio’s announcement on X. The tally includes sales on Steam, PlayStation 5 and China‑only Tencent WeGame. The game attracted 431,000 concurrent Steam players at launch, climbing to a peak of 833,921 over the weekend, making it Steam’s biggest launch of the year and outpacing titles such as Forza Horizon 6, Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Ace Combat 8. Analysts had predicted a strong debut, with Alinea Analytics estimating over 1 million pre‑release sales. While the opening numbers are impressive, Phantom Blade Zero still trails the 2024 Chinese‑made blockbuster Black Myth: Wukong, which has sold roughly 30 million copies and logged over 2.4 million concurrent players at launch. Critical reception notes high‑quality animation and environments but points to uneven narrative and boss‑fight design.

💡 Why It Matters

· The launch demonstrates the growing market power of Chinese‑developed action games on global platforms, reshaping expectations for debut titles.

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Woot drops Nintendo Switch 2 price just days before Legend of Zelda…

The Nintendo Switch 2’s price fell to $469 at Woot, a $30 cut from the $499 list price set after September’s increase, marking one of the first new‑unit discounts since the hike. The Amazon‑owned retailer’s deal appears limited, with past refurbished units selling out quickly and new units rarely offered at this level. The discount arrives just days before the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches on November 5, prompting gamers to consider upgrading before the game’s release. While the special edition Switch 2 remains scarce, Woot’s offer is positioned as the “Deal of the Day” for November 2, and the retailer warns supplies will not last, especially with Black Friday approaching.

💡 The timing creates a rare price window for budget‑conscious fans eager to pair the new console with the flagship Zelda title before holiday price wars begin.

ign.com · Nov 2

Phantom Blade Zero Sells 4 Million Copies in 72 Hours

Developer S‑Game announced that its wuxia‑themed action title Phantom Blade Zero sold 4 million copies within 72 hours of launch. The game debuted atop Steam’s sales charts, outpacing long‑standing hits such as PUBG and Dota 2, and became the platform’s top‑grossing title, surpassing Modern Warfare 4, Aion 2 and the viral cyber‑punk sim Probably Stolen. Peak concurrent players on Steam reached 833,921 on Sunday. Pre‑launch figures had already exceeded one million units across Steam, PS5 and China’s WeGame, with roughly two‑thirds of those sales from China, Taiwan or Hong Kong. Critical reception was strong; IGN gave the game a 9/10, praising its fluid combat and boss encounters. Voice talent includes Roger Craig Smith, Maggie Robertson and Donnie Yen, who also consulted on creative design for players.

💡 The launch proves Chinese‑origin games can dominate Western platforms instantly, reshaping global launch strategies.

ign.com · Nov 2

Speedrunner Breaks Super Mario Bros. World Record While Dressed as the Italian…

Niftski, the reigning speedrunner for Super Mario Bros., set a new ANY% world record during a Halloween livestream while dressed as Mario, posting the run on his YouTube channel. The 4:54.229‑second run shaved 0.33 seconds (33 milliseconds) off his previous mark of 4:54.332, leaving the performance just two frames short of the theoretical perfect run, a time of 4:54.265 that would match the game’s tool‑assisted speedrun (TAS). Niftski explained that the lost frames occurred early, when he mistimed fast accelerations in the first two rooms. He holds the top spots in warpless, glitchless and ANY% categories, and his latest achievement was made in a light‑hearted, in‑character presentation that he says kept him relaxed.

💡 The run pushes the SMB ANY% category to the brink of absolute perfection, showing that further improvements will likely require a new strategy or a flawless human performance.

gamesradar.com · Nov 2

As GTA 6 looms, Fortnite offers almost unlimited free skins for 14…

Epic Games launched the Treasure Hunters season in Fortnite on Nov. 1, weeks before GTA 6’s release. The update introduces Pirate Shop Access tokens that can drop from any chest with low probability. Each token grants a two‑week window—one this year and another in 2027—during which the holder may claim every item in the Fortnite item shop for free, excluding real‑money offers, Battle Pass levels and gifting. Because the shop’s inventory rotates daily, the actual value depends on a player’s existing collection and the items available during the activation period, potentially amounting to hundreds or thousands of dollars in cosmetics. Epic has not disclosed the drop odds, and early reports show many players grinding hundreds of chests in hopes of a token.

💡 By handing out weeks of free cosmetics, Epic forces players to log in daily, turning the launch window into a retention marathon that rivals GTA 6’s hype.

gamesradar.com · Nov 2

GTA 5 lead Ned Luke never got the whole script as Rockstar…

Lead actor Ned Luke disclosed that his personal copy of the Grand Theft Auto V script for Michael De Santa totals roughly 3,500 pages. Luke revealed the detail during an episode of his podcast, The Final Mission, alongside co‑stars Rob Bogue (Steve) and Julian Gamble (Davey), who described filming scenes out of sequence with long gaps and minimal context. Both recalled never seeing a complete narrative, prompting Luke to assemble his own compilation spanning the three‑year production. The team noted that Rockstar labeled the project “Paradise” and watermarked individual pages to curb leaks; Bogue even lost most of his script in a wind‑blown incident. Luke’s archive underscores the massive, fragmented documentation used to build GTA V’s story for the groundbreaking open‑world title.

💡 The sheer volume of fragmented pages reveals Rockstar’s extreme secrecy tactics, a method that likely shapes how future blockbuster games manage narrative leaks.

eurogamer.net · Nov 2

Soulframe to launch into free open beta this week, as Warframe devs…

Soulframe, Digital Extreme’s fantasy action MMORPG, begins its open Preludes beta on 6 November, allowing anyone to download without an invitation. The launch follows three years of closed testing and comes just after Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Forever release and alongside Old School RuneScape’s Hardcore worlds, creating a crowded launch window for MMO fans. The open beta coincides with the Verse of the Veillands update, which overhauls map progression, introduces a corrupted region players must cleanse, unlocks new resources, fishing, and a wolf‑to‑mount pet system, and adds the Ode Shrike Pact—a trap‑focused class. Although the Veillands system will continue to evolve post‑launch, the beta gives newcomers a guided entry point to the game’s open world and invites early feedback from the community.

💡 Launching alongside major MMO updates forces Soulframe to prove its unique blend of guided progression and pet‑mount mechanics, testing whether fresh content can capture players’ attention in a saturated market.