Is Phantom Blade Zero Made by NetEase? Who Actually Owns It
Published 2024-09-24Updated 2026-09-173 min read
No — Phantom Blade Zero is by independent studio S-GAME (Beijing Lingyoufang). Tencent is an investor, but NetEase has no involvement.
No. Phantom Blade Zero is not a NetEase game. It is developed and self-published by S-GAME (Beijing Lingyoufang Software Technology), an independent Chinese studio founded by director Soulframe Liang.
Where the confusion comes from
Big Chinese publishers are involved around the project, so the names get tangled. The studio's backers have been reported as three companies — two partners alongside Tencent, which holds an investment stake. An investment stake is not ownership or development control: S-GAME develops the game, owns the IP, and publishes it under its own name with platform support from Sony and PC storefronts.
Why it matters for the game itself
The distinction is worth caring about. Phantom Blade Zero is a premium single-player title with no gacha monetization — a deliberate statement from a studio whose mobile era taught it exactly what it does not want to repeat. The project's identity is tied to that independence: a director-led comeback to the single-player genre the team came from.
If you want the full funding picture, read investors and backers explained. For the studio's own story, from Rainblood to this reboot, see who makes Phantom Blade Zero.