Phantom Blade Zero developer rejects generative AI, pledges every asset crafted by human artists

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"

Wuxia-inspired action game Phantom Blade Zero 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. "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' original creative intent," said S-Game CEO Qiwei Liang, better known by his alias 'Soulframe', in a post shared via the game's official account on X. 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 "with full lip-syncing for both languages". 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. The attention to detail and authenticity extends to the environments too: "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." The in-game maps, meanwhile, were hand-drawn using Chinese brushes and rice paper by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The Beijing-based studio also underlined the team is now in the final stages of development, "pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities." 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. As the controversial use of gen-AI becomes more commonplace in the industry, it's notable that S-Game is speaking out against it. In a rousing final statement, Liang said: "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."

Phantom Blade Zero wants nothing to do with AI tech that alters artists' intent as the game enters its final stretch

TL;DR: Phantom Blade Zero developer S-Game has declared it won't use AI in its game, with every asset hand-crafted by human artists. Character models are based on real actor scans, voice lines recorded with real talent, and kung-fu masters consulted for authentic movement. The game launches September 9, 2026. After years of hype following its 2024 reveal, Phantom Blade Zero is finally set to launch this year. However, the action-RPG was recently spotted on the list of games supporting NVIDIA's controversial DLSS 5 technology, which has been widely mocked for applying what many call "AI slop filters" to game characters. Seeing the backlash NVIDIA faced, Chinese developer S-Game Studio is now steering clear of the generative AI debate entirely, declaring it won't use any AI in the game. Phantom Blade Zero Game Director Soulframe Liang posted a detailed letter on X about the studio's commitment to human artistry over AI-generated content. "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' original creative intent." According to Soulframe, every part of the game is created from scratch by human artists. Character models use 3D scans of real actors, who performed facial capture. Voice lines were recorded by real talent in both Chinese and English, with full lip-syncing. Developers tested weapons in person and worked with over 20 martial artists, including kung fu and sword experts from Mount Emei. Environments were built from scans of real locations across China, such as ancestral halls and ancient towns. The post also clarified that there are no AI-generated maps or paintings in the title, and that everything is hand-drawn using traditional Chinese brushes on Xuan paper (rice paper). "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, we decided to make a game that everyone here could be deeply proud of," the statement continued. It's pretty clear that S-Game is proud of what its team has built, and the level of craft described goes well above and beyond what most studios commit to. As for NVIDIA and DLSS 5, this doesn't look great. While S-Game doesn't call out NVIDIA or DLSS 5 by name, it's hard to read the statement as anything other than the studio distancing itself and its craft from the AI slop conversation. Phantom Blade Zero is now in its final stages of development ahead of its planned September 9, 2026, launch on PC and PlayStation 5.

Phantom Blade Zero Dev Rejects GenAI That Sounds Like DLSS 5

The action-RPG was one of the games supporting the controversial new Nvidia AI tech 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.

Phantom Blade Zero lead knows "a profound technological revolution is unfolding" with AI, but doesn't really care: "Human artistry is not merely a means for creating value"

"Every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists" As Phantom Blade Zero inches ever closer to its release later this year, S-Game CEO and director Soulframe Liang stresses that everything in the long-awaited game was entirely made by human hands, not by generative AI. "Phantom Blade Zero is currently in the intense, final stages of development," Soulframe writes in a recent social media post ahead of the game's launch on September 9, 2026. "With the time we have left, we are pouring every available resource into pushing every aspect of the game to the absolute limit of our capabilities." He then basically says he knows AI is everywhere, but he doesn't really care: "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' original creative intent." Soulframe goes on to double down on the point, explaining that Phantom Blade Zero's characters were modelled by humans based on 3D scans captured by humans of the mocap performers who - you guessed it - are also humans. English and Chinese voiceovers were "refined by our dedicated actors and directors," and both were fully lip-synced by the devs. Then there's the combat. "The prototypes for our weapons are drawn from the vast arsenal of traditional Chinese weaponry," Soulframe explains. "Sometimes, to better understand how a weapon's weight and length impact movement, we have master swordsmiths forge real replicas." Not to mention the kung-fu masters and sword experts from Mount Emei who consulted on the game. "The game also features a series of guiding maps," he adds. "These are not AI-generated, nor are they digital paintings at all. They were hand-drawn using Chinese brushes and Xuan paper (rice paper) by young artists from the Chinese Painting department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)." "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. We can't wait for you all to experience that difference in Phantom Blade Zero in just a few months. Thank you!" Generative AI and its application in game development has obviously been a hot topic lately as high-profile games, such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Larian Studios' Divinity, dip their toes in those waters (Larian boss Swen Vincke more recently confirmed that the new RPG won't include any GenAI art, and the devs won't use "genAI tools during concept art development"). I'm glad the Phantom Blade Zero devs realize that efficiency and convenience isn't the be-all and end-all, at least.

Phantom Blade: Zero developer on AI: "Every single piece of content in our game has been crafted by the hands of real artists"

The CEO of S-Game has issued a statement to lay out the studio's stance on artificial intelligence. The topic of how artificial intelligence is being used in video game development is an increasingly popular affair, with many developers taking a stance against using the technology for any kind of creative element. To this end, as it has become one of the most anticipated titles of the year, the team behind Phantom Blade: Zero has now issued a statement wherein it talks about how it approaches AI. Coming from the studio's CEO, the S-Game boss mentioned "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." To add to this, we've been given an insight into much of the key features of the wider project, including how the character models are based on 3D scans of the cast, with voice-acting and lip-syncing being "meticulously refined" for both the English and Chinese localisation for the game. Furthermore, the weapons are inspired by traditional Chinese tools and the developer brought on real swordsmiths and even martial artists and "sword masters from Mount Emei" to ensure the combat and action lived up to standards. S-Game even scanned real-world locations around China to be able to incorporate them in the game, and the various guiding maps used in the project have been "hand-drawn using Chinese brushes and Xuan paper (rice paper) by young artists from the Chinese Painting department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts." S-Game signs off with the following: "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." Will you be checking out Phantom Blade: Zero when it debuts in September 2026?

Phantom Blade Zero Dev Appears to Pull DLSS 5 Support: 'No AI Visual Tech That Alters Our Artists' Intent'

This morning, Phantom Blade Zero Game Director Liang Qiwei (known to the public as Soulframe) posted a lengthy letter on X about the studio's commitment to human artistry and creative expression over AI-generated content. Above all, though, it seems like the studio is quietly withdrawing support for the new NVIDIA DLSS 5 technology. Phantom Blade Zero was and still is officially listed among the first games to support NVIDIA DLSS 5, alongside AION 2, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Black State, CINDER CITY, Delta Force, Hogwarts Legacy, Justice, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, NTE: Neverness to Everness, Resident Evil Requiem, Sea of Remnants, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and Where Winds Meet. However, this part of the letter can hardly be interpreted in a different way: 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. It seems likely that S-GAME originally committed to the technology but got cold feet after the controversial reveal, which led many gamers to call it a mere AI filter that ruined the developers' artistic intent. We've written a lot on both sides of the argument, gathering both positive and negative impressions on the early DLSS 5 reveal. However, this is the first time a developer who evidently approved the technology's inclusion in their game has reversed that decision. It's not good news for NVIDIA, that's for sure, especially since it's just one side of its problems. Earlier this week, we asked Liquid Swords, the studio behind the new game Samson, what they thought about it. Without entering the ideological debate, they pointed out that it would need to be fully integrated into the character production pipeline and support all the platforms they were targeting. While the former could happen, the latter seems highly unlikely at this point. Anyway, back to Phantom Blade Zero: Soulframe also pointed out that everything in the game is fully human-created, from the character models built on 3D scans of the actors who also performed facial capture to full lip-syncing in Chinese and English, motion-captured combat animations, scans of Chinese locations that contributed to the handmade creation of the environments, and even hand-drawn maps using Chinese brushes and Xuan paper (rice paper).