S-Game has a launch-day job for Phantom Blade Zero players: install a roughly 5 GB patch, and if you’re on an NVIDIA card, think twice about your driver. According to a Wccftech report, game director and producer Soulframe Liang confirmed the update in a message on Chinese social media, translated on the game’s subreddit. The studio says the patch improves ray tracing and path tracing performance, and it also advises against NVIDIA’s newest Game Ready driver.
What the patch does
“We rushed to prepare a day-one patch before launch, approximately 5 GB in size,” Liang wrote. He says it should significantly improve ray-tracing and path-tracing performance and fix some bugs. Players who preloaded the game can download the extra update before launching, while anyone who hasn’t preloaded gets the latest version in the main download.
The ray tracing gains matter because the feature is expensive. Wccftech’s reviewer played with it switched off on an RTX 4080. In his account, enabling it would have meant running DLSS in Performance mode to reach the 60 FPS base he wanted before adding Frame Generation. S-Game hasn’t published frame-rate figures for the patch, so how much it changes that equation remains to be seen once players have it installed.
The NVIDIA driver warning
The second part of Liang’s message is the more awkward one. He says S-Game found that NVIDIA’s latest 621.01 driver “exhibits unstable performance in certain situations”, and that 617.42 currently gives the best compatibility with the game. Players already on a newer build can pick an older release from NVIDIA’s recent driver list and do a clean reinstall, or wait for the next driver, which Liang says the studio believes will arrive soon.
That advice cuts against NVIDIA’s own guidance. NVIDIA’s launch article names the 621.01 WHQL driver as the one to install for the game, which it says is accelerated by DLSS 4.5 with Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and uses DLSS Ray Reconstruction on its path-traced lighting. We haven’t found an NVIDIA response to S-Game’s warning. If you want the DLSS 4.5 features in the meantime, our coverage of DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction explains what that feature does.
Availability and UAE pricing
The game targets PS5 and PC, with PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The UAE PlayStation Store lists the Standard Edition at AED 239 and the Digital Deluxe Edition at AED 279, both still marked as pre-orders at the time of writing, with a 29 October release and a PS5 Pro Enhanced label. The US price is USD 59.99 for Standard. Release timing varies by region: Steam and NVIDIA cite 28 October because of the US evening unlock, while Vice’s schedule puts the UAE start at 6am on 29 October.
PS5 players don’t have to think about NVIDIA drivers, but our advice for PC players is practical. Let the patch finish before you judge performance, note your current driver version before changing anything, and keep the 617.42 installer on hand in case 621.01 gives you trouble. If you’re on 617.42 or earlier and the game runs well, there’s no need to move until NVIDIA ships its next release.
Do I need to download the patch separately?
If you preloaded the game, the 5 GB update is a separate download before launch. If you haven’t, Liang says downloading the game directly gives you the latest version.
Should I roll back my NVIDIA driver for Phantom Blade Zero?
S-Game recommends driver 617.42 and says 621.01 shows unstable performance in some situations. If you’re already on 621.01, you can reinstall an older version cleanly or wait for the next driver, which S-Game expects soon.
How much does Phantom Blade Zero cost in the UAE?
The UAE PlayStation Store lists the Standard Edition at AED 239 and the Digital Deluxe Edition at AED 279. Steam and Epic Games Store pricing for the UAE wasn’t checked.
