As of 2026-10-30, the newest build of Phantom Blade Zero is the day-one patch, and there are no itemised patch notes for it. The update was prepared ahead of launch and shipped with the launch letter from Soulframe Liang, Creative Director and CEO of S-GAME. It is reported as version 1.301.524 — the version number published for the PlayStation build — and on PC it is a download of roughly 5 GB. If you pre-loaded the game, you have to download and install it before you launch; a fresh download already contains it.
What it changed, in the developer's own words: it "significantly improves ray tracing and path tracing performance, alongside several bug fixes", and the studio says it spent "a great deal of time refining the game's rasterized visuals so that each environment stays true to our art direction even with ray tracing turned off."
That is the entire list. There is no changelog for it.
The build state
| Newest build | The day-one patch, reported as 1.301.524 |
| Size on PC | About 5 GB (the PS5 patch is about 2 GB) |
| Shipped | Ahead of launch, announced with the launch letter of 28 Oct 2026 |
| Itemised notes | None published |
| Steam news feed on 2026-10-30 | No post-launch patch note, so the day-one patch is the newest verifiable build |
What the launch letter actually says
Three items, in the order the studio listed them:
- The day-one patch. "We've prepared a day-one patch ahead of launch. The update is approximately 5 GB and significantly improves ray tracing and path tracing performance, alongside several bug fixes. If you've already pre-loaded the game, please download and install the update before launching. If you haven't pre-loaded, your download will automatically include the latest version."
- The rasterized visuals. "We've spent a great deal of time refining the game's rasterized visuals so that each environment stays true to our art direction even with ray tracing turned off. We've also extensively tested the game on mid-range and lower-end PCs, as well as handhelds, and encourage you to give it a try."
- The NVIDIA driver. "We've observed some performance instability with NVIDIA's latest 621.01 driver. Based on our testing, version 617.42 currently offers the best experience in Phantom Blade Zero. If you've installed a driver newer than 617.42, we recommend rolling back to 617.42 and choosing the clean installation option. Please stay on this version until NVIDIA releases its next driver update, which we expect to arrive soon."
There is no fifth item and no list of individual fixes. Anything more specific than "ray tracing and path tracing performance" and "several bug fixes" is not written down anywhere.
The NVIDIA driver advice still applies
The driver instruction is part of the same letter and it is the first thing to check if the frame rate is wrong:
- Roll back to 617.42 if you are on anything newer, and choose the clean installation option during setup.
- Stay there until NVIDIA ships the next driver, which the studio expected soon after launch.
The stuttering fixes page has the driver steps, the shader cache and overlay checklist, and the launch-day crash workarounds.
The launch-day crash reports
Two crash patterns were being reported on the Steam board within hours of the launch, and neither is fixed by the day-one patch:
| Symptom | What is known |
|---|---|
| The game closes within a few seconds of the logo, with no error message | The crash logs point at the built-in anti-tamper protection starting up before the graphics driver loads. The reported fix is to turn off Windows Memory integrity (Windows Security, Device security, Core isolation details) and restart. Updating the GPU driver, disabling the Steam overlay and verifying game files do not help. |
| The game crashes after the Chapter 2 cutscene | The developer's public reply is to update the graphics driver to 617.42 first, and if it still crashes, to send the machine details (CPU, GPU, driver version, system version, RAM) to the studio's own support page. |
Both are on the stuttering fixes page, with the check that tells the two apart.
What is still unconfirmed
- Any itemised list of what the patch changed. There is none on Steam, and none on the store page.
- Whether a second patch has been prepared. The Steam news feed for app 4115450 carried no post-launch patch note as of 2026-10-30.
- Whether NVIDIA has released the next driver that would let you leave 617.42.
- The exact PC build string. 1.301.524 is the version number published for the PlayStation patch; the PC download is the roughly 5 GB day-one update.
Check this page again
This is window content and the numbers are dated 2026-10-30. Re-read the Steam store page and the Steam news feed for app 4115450 before you rely on the build number, and re-read the launch letter, because the driver advice in it expires as soon as NVIDIA ships its next update.