The Much-Hyped Action-RPG 'Phantom Blade Zero' Officially Has One Year Of PS5 Exclusivity

I hope they are happy with themselves I'm sure playstation console sales will explode because of this single exclusive experience 👍
Can't wait till the games industry moves past this outdated nonsense especially considering playstation is constantly outselling the Xbox anyway this just comes across petty and small!

Totally stupid for Sony to pay for exclusives now.
Waste of money, Sony could spend elsewhere.

They really don’t want other console gamers to enjoy a game, pathetic.

It is what it is, I'm waiting for Hades 2 patiently like an adult (it's really not that difficult). Luckily there is an endless stream of games being released and most people on these sites talk about their massive backlogs, so this really shouldn't be a big deal.
Look at it this way guys, when it comes to Xbox it will be the most complete, bug free version of the game.

Anyway maybe the game is good, maybe not. Eventually will come to Xbox, but I feel kind of tired with all these "soulslike" games. It doesn't appeal to me anymore. I finished some of them although they were pretty hard, but I like to have a normal difficulty on games and have fun, not struggle to beat a boss forever.

@kelomaniack it's a character action game with multiple difficulty settings. The Devs themselves have pushed back against the souls like tag even if game journalists are seemingly calling all action games soulslikes now

@Chip-Douglas

sales will surge because of this single exclusive experience

There are quite a few third-party exclusive experiences on PS5 amigo. This is just the latest one to be confirmed...this is no outlier for Sony.

@Llamageddon Don't think anyone is crying about this but it's still a crappy thing to do for no real reason or positive for the company doing it other than to stop the other guys playing it!
But still no big deal at all but thanks for that pep talk I would of been lost without it👌😉

Screw them, seriously! They STILL feel the need to lock stuff like that, even though it’s crystal clear Xbox is never getting back to 360 era success, to the point where they’re releasing their own first party games on PS5?
And that whole fake wholesome « the console war is over » line from Microsoft? Yeah, absolutely not.

And still some people hope to see first party ps games on Xbox… well… good luck with that.

@Sol4ris That was sarcasm my friend✌️
Sometimes hard to see through just text but yeah ha👍

Can’t wait for this one. Been on my radar since the debut trailer, looks unbelievably good.

@OldGamer999 I don't get your comment. If Sony didn't want others to enjoy it then it would be permanently exclusive to PS5 with no other platforms.

@Chip-Douglas saying there's no positive for the company doing it is pure conjecture as we simply don't know what Sony have provided in return. Maybe it was just financial but other Devs have mentioned how Sony will send people to help them in development as well.
Just saying timed exclusivity isn't as a big as deal as it used to be given the current cadence of big game releases.

(Edit)Think I might have misread your comment slightly. The positive for Sony doing this is the same as it's always been, getting people into their ecosystem.

@Llamageddon That's true and tbh I probably wouldn't be picking this up either ha
I only really like from software souls like games others just seem bad in comparison to me but considering there dominant position compared to Xbox is there a need for a year of exclusivity?
But it is what it is sorry if I was a bit of an arse with that last comment aswell Monday vibes haha✌️

@Llamageddon I hope so, since I have heard that before for other games and at the end there were also super hard. Black myth is also mentioned as not-soulslike 😕

@Llamageddon They don't really need much the get people on the ecosystem either tbh I don't see this being a huge seller though I could be wrong!
PlayStation's are selling better than ever while Xbox probably struggles to beat the number of console sales Sony make in a month over the whole year!

@Chip-Douglas no worries bud and I agree Sony could be spending their money more wisely elsewhere given the current direction of platform holders.
Anyway, hope your Monday improves and happy gaming 😁

As much as I hate it when Sony do these periods of exclusivity, I totally understand why they do it. Yes, this one game, taken in isolation, will probably not really move the dial when it comes to sales of the PS5, but it is the accumulative effect of many such titles being exclusive to the Sony ecosystem. It is not a matter of just this one game, but all of those games that are exclusive to the PlayStation.

If you watched the whole of the Game Awards show this year, as I did, there were something like 8-10 AAA games that were shown that said they were releasing either only on the PS5, or on both the PS5 and PC, in 2026 to 2027.

With that many games missing the Xbox, at least upon initial release, it is easy to see the PlayStation as a more attractive proposition than the Xbox, particularly when you also take into account the rising costs of both the Series consoles, and also Game Pass.

These things mount up, and are not good news for Xbox...

@Chip-Douglas so Sony just shouldn't operate because Microsoft fumbled?

@kelomaniack I'm hopeful this game is different as the Devs said multiple difficulty options. Black myth didn't have difficulty settings and though I persevered to the end (still couldn't beat the final, final boss Erlang) it was through clenched teeth and balled fists at times.
Lies of p's easy setting was far from easy though so I do understand your concerns

@Llamageddon Thanks dude positive vibes to you too my friend ✌️

@Fiendish-Beaver Sony are pushing hard for the Chinese console market after they've lost the Japanese market to Nintendo.

This is a win all around. Chinese developers get recognition and Sony grow a new consumer base.

Microsoft and Nintendo could easily do the same.

@Naughtyottsel92 No I'm not saying that at all I'm just saying if I have 2 dozen eggs it makes no sense to pay a bit extra to buy the last 6 eggs I don't really need because I don't want the next dude in line who i don't really like to have any eggs so he will have to wait till next week to get some!
Now that's one hell of an analogy if I say so myself ha🦸

I totally agree @Naughtyottsel92. Microsoft could do the same, but I think truth be told, they have lost interest in console sales, and now that Game Pass is (reportedly) stalling, I think they are looking for a way out being a subscription service provider too. I think that Nadella is looking to push Xbox in a very different direction than we, the gamers, would wish...

@Fiendish-Beaver

I said to friends from the start that the Activision deal was going to be a disaster but would get shot down as a Sony pony when I didn't even mention them.

The deal entirely changed the brand and I don't see a way forward for it.

PC gamers won't want the next Xbox hybrid thing because they'll just upgrade their PC's and casual gamers won't want an insane entry price.

Nobody cares. Just play where winds meet for free on ps5 or pc lol

@OldGamer999 You say this like microsoft don't do the same thing. They paid for Stalker 2 to be xbox exclusive last year and have likely done the same thing for Routine and Replaced.

That's cool to know! I'll wait a few years more to give them my money!

Game looked nice, but nothing I'm dying to try.

Friendly reminder that Xbox also has plenty of console/timed exclusives so if Sony are an evil moustache twirling villain then so are they. This year saw Mullet Madjack, Deep Rock Galactic Survivors, Routine, 33 Immortals, Dome Keeper, Cloverpit, Decenders Next, Mechabreak, Lonely Mountain Snow Riders, Void Train, Space Marine Remaster, A game about digging a hole, Back to the Dawn, Dome keeper and Super Market Simulator.

@GeeEssEff the fact that Microsoft was worse than Sony ever was back in the 360 era is crazy.

PS and PC gamers are still missing DLC or entire games from multiplatform developers.

@Chip-Douglas so how do you feel when MS do it?

It’s obviously something that brings in extra money for whoever does it. Or else it wouldn’t be done.

Shrugs. Oh well, nevermind.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner It's been a long time since that has happened my friend also the market is different now and like I've said a million times Sony are in a very dominant position compared to Xbox not to mention 1st party exclusives are a lot different to 3rd party ones especially if there was a payment for the pointless exclusivity

@Chip-Douglas so basically...it's fine when Microsoft does it but not Sony.

Gotcha.

@OldGamer999 To be fair, Sony has had exclusivity basically going back to when they showed off the game in 2023. For all we know, the contract was probably made before that… At that time, Sony was still waiting to see what the fall out the ActiviBlizz buyout would be

@Chip-Douglas so what about the games they’ve done it this year alone?

That’s all ok? But Sony do it and it’s wrong? How does that square in your head?

I am probably going to get shouted out for living under a rock... but I have never heard of this game! Maybe it is a souls like game and once I heard that I totally forgot about it.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner What 3rd party games would they be that are exclusive to Xbox this year?? The game we are discussing is 3rd party!
Sony will obviously keep 1st party games exclusive!
It's better to have an actual discussion about this rather than just pick holes in what I'm saying!

@Naughtyottsel92 Number 32 and 37 from the comments should explain perfectly my friend

@ZeD Zed my dude I'm sorry to hear you actually died this week RIP

@Chip-Douglas see my comment #28…that’s not the full list btw that is just some of the more popular games and all third party.

@Chip-Douglas I've read them and they're irrelevant. Why does Sony need to operate differently because Microsoft fumbled?

You know full well that people here would be crapping on Sony if Microsoft were doing timed deals.

Microsoft and Sony both do these. Microsoft had exclusive SoD for 2024 and most of 2025 while Sony has this for 2026 and most of 2027.