Phantom Blade Zero State of Play Could Be Swamped by Sony’s Physical Disc Backlash

Phantom Blade Zero is getting a dedicated State of Play featuring nearly 20 minutes of new gameplay, but Sony’s controversial decision to end physical disc production in 2028 could turn the event into another major backlash against the PlayStation maker.

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Sony is planning to showcase one of their upcoming action games that looks extremely promising, however, the next State of Play for PlayStation might turn out to be about something else. The game called Phantom Blade Zero is set to get its very own deep dive into gameplay on August 17, however, Sony's decision to stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games starting 2028 has sparked outrage on social media and amongst PlayStation fans.

The special Phantom Blade Zero State of Play event will be held on August 17 at 7:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM ET, which equates to August 18 at 3:00 AM BST, 10:00 AM Beijing time and 11:00 AM JST. Both Sony and the developers behind Phantom Blade Zero, S-Game, are planning to share an in-depth look at the game's combat mechanics, characters, and wuxia-inspired world. Pre-orders for the game are currently available.

However, considering the reactions to the Sony's statement, the chats on the livestream might end up being entirely devoted to another subject – physical PlayStation games.

Phantom Blade Zero State of Play Faces an Unusual Problem

Usually, a State of Play event for such a long-awaited action video game would be assumed to create anticipation and talks regarding its gameplay. Phantom Blade Zero definitely has a lot of content to fuel all of those.

In contrast to that, this particular State of Play event has come to Sony at a very unfortunate time. Gamers are still angry about Sony's decision to stop producing new PlayStation games on physical discs as of January 2028. This policy entails the fact that new games released after this date will be released digitally, both digitally through various retailers, and the ones set to release before that transition date will not be affected.

That statement has emerged as one of the most frustrating things for the proponents of physical media, and PlayStation's social media posts have increasingly turned out to be the forums to express their frustrations. This is similarly emerging to be the case after the announcement of the Phantom Blade Zero State of Play, with some of the users already calling for the chat on the livestream to be flooded with messages against Sony's physical media policy.

Hashtags like #NODISCNOBUY have been encouraged by the critics of the policy, while some people have been warning that the State of Play might become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing controversy. Some of the fans have even wondered whether Sony can lock out or limit the chat forum of the livestream.

Fans Say They May Skip Phantom Blade Zero Without a Disc

However, it is not just restricted to social media. There were comments under the official PlayStation Blog post as well where people expressed their dissatisfaction at Sony's decision and their excitement about Phantom Blade Zero.

There have been people who claim they would be interested in supporting S-Game and buying the game only when there is a physical version of the game. Some of them say that they may decide not to buy the game at all if it does not have a physical disc version. The whole point is not about owning a box for the sake of owning it.

There has been an argument made that concerns the ownership and preservation of games. Physical games are usually something that is sold and can be collected separately from the digital stores, which is not the case with the digital purchase of the game. Digital purchases tend to be tied to accounts and depend on the services of the store to download or access some of the content.

It has become especially relevant in light of Sony's other recent decisions that affect the PlayStation storefront. The company has announced changes to PlayStation Store that concern PS3 and PS Vita, starting in selected markets in 2026 and full closures in 2027.

Sony Says the Move Reflects Changing Consumer Habits

In their view, moving away from physical discs is not a random choice, but rather an adjustment to changing consumer habits. According to Sony Interactive Entertainment, when introducing the policy, in July, the shift to digital distribution of new PlayStation games is caused by the change in consumer preference towards digital products within the entire entertainment industry.

Moreover, Sony's financial results serve as a solid rationale for making the change. In light of the figures provided by Sony, 82% of full-game software sales on PS4 and PS5 have become digital.

Furthermore, from Sony's point of view, the shift to digital distribution makes a lot more sense economically. If Sony sells a game via the PlayStation Store, Sony is able to keep all the profits without having to split the revenue with retailers and spending money on physical production.

This issue becomes even more relevant in terms of third party titles. In case of a physical release, Sony gets a license fee, whereas in case of the digital distribution via the PlayStation Store, the platform owner is entitled to receive a greater percentage from the deal. This approach seems profitable at the moment when the whole console industry faces increasing expenses on hardware production and decreased sales of consoles.

Physical Game Supporters Are Not Backing Down

However, in spite of Sony's financial reasons, those supporting the use of physical media have been continuing to lobby for a reversal. Various online petitions have been started; PlayStation posts on social media have received a lot of criticism; some organizations are recommending that gamers join the PlayStation boycott for the month of August.

However, the criticism has not remained limited to individual gamers. According to Digital Entertainment and Retail Association from the UK, Sony's move was motivated by company convenience rather than consumer choice. This shows how the issue has evolved beyond just being a dispute between collectors and a platform owner.

However, Sony shows no signs of backing down. Representatives of Sony have noted that the gamers' opinion on the matter is very strong but have insisted that their decision does not affect the business at all now and will not affect it in the future either.

This makes a complete reversal highly unlikely.

Phantom Blade Zero Is Caught in the Middle

The irony is that Phantom Blade Zero has nothing to do with Sony’s disc-based stance, and it is precisely this game that may turn out to be one of the main victims of the controversy.

The State of Play scheduled for April 30 is intended to highlight the game itself. As stated by Soulframe Liang, CEO and founder of S-Game, the presentation is going to be about 20 minutes long and will give details about those aspects of the game that have not been fully shown before.

As promised by Liang, the preorder trailer was just the tip of an iceberg of the character’s Soul's adventures. New characters are set to appear during the presentation, along with showing how customizable individual build and combat system of the game are.

Interest in the game is created by its cinematic vision and tough combat system, featuring such moments as fights on carts and clashes with former comrades like The Hunt.

Donnie Yen Has a Major Role in Phantom Blade Zero

Another big draw is the involvement of famous actor Donnie Yen, who has been revealed as one of the performers in Phantom Blade Zero.

As mentioned above, he will play Mó Yuan, the father of the main character Soul, and has done motion capture work for this character. As reported by S-Game, Donnie Yen has become involved in the development of Phantom Blade Zero as a creative consultant from 2023, mainly providing advice related to combat design.

This is especially important since S-Game is determined to create a genuine kung fu experience rather than making it just about martial arts aesthetically. The knowledge and expertise of Donnie Yen will help the development team with the choreography, movements, and general sense of the fight.

This way, the coming State of Play will be one of the most revealing ones in terms of how their intentions manifest in the gameplay itself.

Could a Phantom Blade Zero Demo Shadow-Drop?

Moreover, there are speculations about the possibility of releasing the Phantom Blade Zero demo together with the State of Play. The existence of the PlayStation Store listing for the demo was found by fans before it was deleted. Naturally, this has led to the assumption that S-Game might release the demo right after presenting the gameplay.

At this point, the demo must be considered just a rumour since neither Sony nor S-Game have announced anything about this. However, such an idea makes a lot of sense considering that after showing nearly 20 minutes of gameplay, the developers could create another wave of buzz around the game.

The event scheduled for August 17th certainly has a lot of baggage to bring. Sony clearly wishes this event to be all about Phantom Blade Zero, but the overall issue of its physical media may pose some problems.

S-Game certainly finds itself in a bad spot here. Dedicated State of Play event is a perfect chance to showcase its game's fighting system and other characters and elements to a wide audience. If the chat and all discussions related to the event will get bogged down with comments about physical discs, then all those messages will be diluted.

At the same time, the backlash clearly shows just how strongly some members of the PlayStation community feel about the physical games of the future. Sony certainly explains that it's about the consumers' preferences and economics of business, but the players see their physical games as something else.

At least for the moment, Sony looks like it is going to stick to its digital plan. The PlayStation games, which will no longer be produced in physical discs starting in January 2028, have received no hint of the change being revoked.

What this means for Phantom Blade Zero is that the game has now taken an unusual place in the PlayStation line-up: it can be one of the most promising action games presented by PlayStation for this year but its exclusive presentation can also add another dimension to the already heated debate regarding physical and digital gaming in the industry.

The main point here is whether or not fans of S-Game will allow it to steal the show during the State of Play featuring Phantom Blade Zero scheduled for August 17.