Phantom Blade Zero: How Donnie Yen is Pushing Action Games to New Heights

For Phantom Blade Zero, the team at developer S-Game is clearly pulling out all the stops in order to bring its bold and exciting vision for kungfupunk to life. By drafting in action movie megastar and martial arts master Donnie Yen to serve as co-producer on its wuxia-inspired action RPG, the Chinese developer is ensuring that every kick, punch, and scintillating sword-slice is delivered with the utmost authenticity and heart-stopping intensity.

In 2025, I was fortunate enough to be invited over to S-Game’s Shanghai studio to get an insight into its groundbreaking approach to kung fu motion capture, and to speak with both creative director Soulframe Liang and Donnie Yen himself. It was genuinely spectacular to see Donnie’s team in action, pulling off a breathtaking series of dazzling wirework stunts and daring martial arts moves, but it wasn’t until I saw a stunt performer juggling a baby on the blade of his sword before launching it into the air that I knew I was witnessing something truly crazy and totally creative.

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As it turns out, Donnie Yen wasn’t just playing a vital role in the creation of Phantom Blade Zero, he was helping to usher in an exciting new way of mo-capping action in games. Watch the video above for IGN's exclusive look behind the scenes at the making of this martial arts-inspired action epic.

Not yet caught up on Phantom Blade Zero? Be sure to check out our first hands-on preview here.

Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN's Sydney office. He travelled to Shanghai as a guest of S-Game. Follow him on Blue Sky at @tristanogilvie.bsky.social