LONDON, UK - 29 July 2026 – Revolution Software, a world-leading developer and publisher of narrative-driven games, today announces that its iconic Broken Sword franchise has officially launched in China for the very first time. Publishing of Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged. into the world’s largest video games market - including marketing, translation and localisation - has been handled by global PC game distribution experts Rokky.
The Chinese community has waited 20+ years for an official localisation of Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged. Leveraging Rokky’s extensive experience in the Chinese market, both Reforged titles, including the upcoming Broken Sword - The Smoking Mirror: Reforged, will now be released in Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese in 2026.
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is the Definitive Edition of the popular point-and-click adventure game. ‘Reforged’ denotes a full remaster with new hand-painted backgrounds, reworked character animation, modern controls and a UI overhaul to match modern displays. It is the definitive edition, now reaching a new audience in the largest gaming region.
The 4K Reforged edition of this multi-award-winning adventure has been hailed as a masterful restoration of a timeless classic, revitalising play with hand-redrawn backgrounds based on the original line art, over 30,000 reanimated character sprites, and fully remastered audio.
Charles Cecil, Founder and Creative Director of Revolution Software Ltd. commented:
“The Broken Sword games have built a hugely loyal fan base in the US and Europe that spans three generations. Great stories are globally universal, and we are hugely excited to be able to bring the game to China. We are delighted to be co-publishing with Rokky, who bring enormous experience, and we are excited to work with them to deliver this game to Chinese players and grow our fan base in the east.
“There has long been a community of Chinese enthusiasts who have loved the Broken Sword series who have urged us to localise and publish it in China. In reforging the games, we invited gamers from China and around the world to play and offer valuable feedback which we enthusiastically incorporated. Despite no official release until now, Chinese players have played a pivotal role in Broken Sword’s global spread and we are thrilled that we will be able to keep this going with The Smoking Mirror: Reforged later this year.”
Marketing & PR, influencer outreach, community management, and LQA & commercial coordination for Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged are being managed by Rokky under a co-publishing agreement. This marks Rokky’s first official foray into publishing following over a decade of distributing thousands of PC games for major publishers including Team17, Sony, and Capcom.
In 2025, Rokky hit new heights, with 4.3 billion keys distributed across regions such as East Asia, LATAM and CIS, and $55 million in revenue generated. Rokky saw particularly strong growth in China, hiring several specialists to support its distribution efforts, including managing ChinaPlay, one of the eleven Chinese distribution channels it operates. The company’s dedicated China distribution team is now being transitioned into an official publishing unit.
Vadim Andreev, CEO and Founder of Rokky, commented:
"The Chinese gaming market is massive, and success requires deep local insight into player behaviour and distribution - knowledge that Rokky has cultivated through years of presence in the region. While we’ve distributed many titles before, from AAA to indie, publishing a game is an entirely different task requiring a different skill set. It brings with it new challenges, but these are challenges we are excited to tackle. I would like to thank Charles and everyone at Revolution Software for trusting us with co-publishing the iconic Broken Sword series."
Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is available to purchase now, with a 40% discount, and a playable demo will be available at ChinaJoy in the Indie Game Zone - Booth W4-B-IG087.
ENDS
For further info & interviews contact:
(ENGLISH)
Raptor PR for Rokky
Joshua Goldie
+44 7947 990308
(CHINESE)
Rokky
Vika Zhang
WeChat: water-se7en
+8613935573000
vikaz@rokky.com
About Revolution Software
Founded in 1990, Revolution Software Limited is a world-leading developer / publisher of narrative-driven games: titles such as cult classic cyber-punk adventure Beneath a Steel Sky (1994); and the multi-million selling Broken Sword series, first released in 1996, which has earned over $100 million at retail.
In 2020 the company released Beyond a Steel Sky, written in partnership with graphic novel artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), which was commissioned by Apple as a lead title for Apple Arcade.
In 2024, Revolution released a substantially enhanced version of the first Broken Sword, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged in 4K. Animated sprites were redrawn; backgrounds were digitally repainted; audio was remastered from the original assets. A ‘Story mode’ subtly nudges the player when the game determines that they are beginning to get frustrated with any puzzle. Currently the game’s Metacritic score on PS5 sits at 89%.
Revolution is currently working on an enhanced version of the second Broken Sword game, Broken Sword - The Smoking Mirror: Reforged in 4K due for release in Autumn 2026.
The company continues to evolve and redefine the adventure genre for a broad and diverse audience.
About Rokky
Rokky is a PC game distribution platform and publisher delivering publisher-approved keys to global markets. The company partners with over 200 stores around the world to help publishers take full control of their distribution beyond Steam. Rokky enables developers and publishers to enter the alternative distribution space safely, expand their reach and protect their games from unauthorised resellers. Publishers like Nacon, Team17, and Offworld choose Rokky for streamlined distribution, and data-backed growth, tapping into new revenue streams and reducing reliance on large platform monopolies.
To learn more, visit https://rokky.com.