Phantom Blade Zero isn't even out yet, but it could be 'one of the year's breakout hits' as it shifts half a million copies on Steam alone

Chinese action game Phantom Blade Zero already appears to be outperforming massive games like Gears of War: E-Day and Control Resonant on Steam, despite still being days from release.

That's according to sales data scrutinised by Alinea Analytics head of market analysis Rhys Elliott, who posted their findings on LinkedIn. Based on Elliott's estimates, Phantom Blade Zero has already sold 500,000 copies on Steam through pre-orders, bringing in roughly $24m in revenue ahead of its launch next week. Elliott noted the figures meant Phantom Blade Zero was "outperforming" Gears of War: E-Day and Control Resonant on Steam at the time of writing, and that China is currently its top market.

Other interesting tidbits include the fact that Phantom Blade Zero has also generated a lofty 2.5m Steam wishlists. According to Elliott, 41 percent of players who've wishlisted the game have also played Black Myth Wukong, while 38 percent of them have played Elden Ring and 28 percent played Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

It's an impressive start for Phantom Blade Zero on PC, and Elliott goes on to say that "pre-launch signals" point to the game being popular on PS5 too. He even goes as far as to suggest it has the "potential to be one of the year's breakout single-player hits."

These figures emerge at a time China's games industry is enjoying a boom, and an increasing number of releases from Chinese developers are launching to critical and commercial success worldwide. Phantom Blade Zero has all the signs of becoming another hit it launches for PS5 and PC on 28th October.