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?
<social>https://x.com/pbzero_official/status/2042420654960738477</social>