VITURE's $599 Phantom Beast glasses add a scabbard case and Phantom Blade Zero collectibles

VITURE and game studio S-GAME are taking pre-orders for the Phantom Beast, a special edition of VITURE's Beast display glasses built around the action game Phantom Blade Zero. It costs $599 at viture.com and the IGN Store, according to VITURE's press release, which went out Aug. 27.

What the Phantom Beast is

The Phantom Beast is a themed version of the standard Beast. The release says it is "wrapped around the same industry-leading optical system and ultra-sharp display of the standard Beast." What changes is the design and the package. VITURE lists a redesigned case, a detachable strap, and an on-screen menu "reskinned entirely around Phantom Blade Zero's UI." The temples carry metal detailing that the release says is "modeled after Soul's blade frozen mid-draw."

The release lists the display specs it shares with the standard Beast: a 174-inch virtual screen at 4 meters, 1200p per eye, a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,250 nits of peak brightness, nine levels of electrochromic dimming and 3DoF spatial tracking. The release also says users can switch between five display modes, including a 32:9 panoramic mode for PC games. (We read the spec lines through a reprint of the release, so check them against VITURE's page before you buy.)

What's in the box

VITURE's release names the case "The Scabbard." It describes a triangular metal drawer wrapped in textured black leather that opens "the way the game's blades do." 9to5Google calls it a metal-and-leather scabbard carrying case.

The release says four extra Phantom Blade Zero collectibles come in the oversized box:

• a 12.5cm replica of the Mó Sanguine blade
• a game-art card brick
• a sticker sheet
• a lens cloth

9to5Google lists three collectibles (the replica, the lens cloth and a sticker set) and doesn't mention the card brick, so the count differs between the two. We're using VITURE's own list.

Anyone who pre-orders or buys by Nov. 5 also gets a collectible game map, per the release. VITURE's product page repeats the cutoff with the line "Limited To Orders Before November 5." The release doesn't say whether the map or the collectibles will be sold separately afterward.

According to 9to5Google, the full box also holds a detachable lanyard, four nose pads, a USB-C to USB-C cable and a prescription lens frame. VITURE's release and product page, as we read them, don't list those items. We can't confirm them, and we don't know what the prescription frame fits or what range it covers. VITURE's help center says the Beast has no diopter adjustment, as our VITURE glasses guide notes.

How it compares with the standard Beast

VITURE's Beast page listed the standard Beast from $549 when our guide read it on Oct. 28, so the Phantom Beast costs $50 more at that price. For the difference you get the themed hardware, the case, the collectibles and, for a limited time, the map. Nothing in VITURE's release points to better optics, a brighter display or different tracking. If you only want the glasses, the standard Beast covers the same display. We didn't recheck the Beast's price for this story, so confirm it on VITURE's site.

Like other VITURE glasses, the Phantom Beast is a display accessory. It needs a source device. 9to5Google says a PS5 needs a $29 cable, and that Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 owners need VITURE's Mobile Dock Mini. We didn't see that cable on VITURE's pages, so treat the $29 figure as the outlet's. Our guide covers the Mobile Dock Mini and the other accessories.

What VITURE hasn't said

The release date is reported two ways. VITURE's release says "Phantom Beast launches on October 29, the same day as Phantom Blade Zero." 9to5Google says the glasses arrived with the game's release "today, October 30." When we read VITURE's product page on Oct. 30, it showed $599 and a Pre-order button, with no delivery date. That means we can't tell you when orders ship.

VITURE also hasn't published:

• how many Phantom Beasts exist, or whether the edition is numbered or capped
• the price outside the US, or whether the IGN Store price matches VITURE's
• the weight or exact field of view of this edition

VITURE founder David Jiang said in the release: "Building Phantom Beast let us do more than put a logo on a product." The company hasn't published anything beyond the design, software skin and bundle that sets the edition apart from the Beast.

For a full rundown of the Beast, the Pro 2 and the Luma series, see our VITURE glasses guide.