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The Blood of Dawnwalker

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The Blood of Dawnwalker
DeveloperRebel Wolves
PublisherBandai Namco Entertainment
DirectorKonrad Tomaszkiewicz
DesignerDaniel Sadowski
ArtistBartłomiej Gaweł
WriterJakub Szamalek
EngineUnreal Engine 5
Platforms
Release2026
GenreAction role-playing
ModeSingle-player

The Blood of Dawnwalker is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Rebel Wolves and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is set in 14th-century medieval Southeast Europe. The game was announced in January 2025. It is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.

Gameplay

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The Blood of Dawnwalker is a vampire-themed dark fantasy action role-playing game played from third-person perspective. In the game, the player assumes control of Coen, a Dawnwalker with both human and vampiric qualities. During day time, gameplay focuses on swordplay. The game features directional blocking, in which players must select one of four directions to attack or parry. As they deal damage, they will earn activation charges, which can be used to deploy Hex magic, or perform an execution move, both of which deal devastating damage to enemies.[1] At night, Coen is able to make use of vampiric abilities in both combat and traversal. He can walks vertically on walls, and uses Shadowstep, which allows him to teleport quickly to reach distant areas. As a vampire, he fights using his claws, and he can bite his enemies for health regeneration. As players progress, they will gain skill point which can be used to unlock additional active abilities and passive bonuses across three distinct skill trees.[2]

There are often multiple ways to complete a quests. The time of day often has a significant influence on how a quest is resolved. As a human during daytime, Coen has more opportunities to interact with other non-playable characters and identify non-violent ways to resolve a conflict. As a vampire during night time, Coen must avoid being detected by both guards and civilians using stealth tactics while approaching his target, and have to feed on animals or humans, either knocking them unconcscious or outright executing them.[3] In the game, Coen only has 30 days to save his family. While players are free to explore the game's open world at their own pace,[4] completing quests will advance time forward, potentially jeopardizing Coen's primary mission. While players have the option to finish the primary objective at the start of the game, progressing through the campaign and completing quests allows players to build up Coen's strength and equip him with gears and skills necessary to win the fight.[5]

Settings

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The game is set in a gothic, fictional 14th-century kingdom called "Vale Sangora", located in the Carpathian Mountains. Drawing from Eastern European folklore, players explore a world filled with supernatural creatures, moral dilemmas, and political intrigue. It’s a mix of predominantly Romanian motifs with broader influences of Balkan cultures.[6]

The protagonist, Coen, struggles with silver poisoning and a vampiric curse, attempting to save his family within 30 days. His journey is shaped by his unique bond with sickened sister, Lunka, a cryptic figure pivotal to the story’s exploration of survival, morality, and power.[7]

Brencis is the primary antagonist in the game, an ancient and formidable vampire who has seized control of "Vale Sangora". Under his rule, the kingdom has fallen into darkness, with vampires imposing a "blood tax" on the human populace. This oppressive regime has led to widespread discontent among the inhabitants, who are forced into servitude under the vampire lords.[8]

Development

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Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, a director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) and head of production for Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), left his position at CD Projekt in May 2021 following an internal investigation into workplace bullying allegations that found him not guilty.[9] Afterward, he took an extended break to consider his next steps. Having spent 17 years at the company, Tomaszkiewicz wanted to shift to smaller projects with a smaller team, hoping to avoid the challenges he faced while working on large-scale games at CD Projekt.[10]

In February 2022, it was announced that Tomaszkiewicz had founded a new studio, Rebel Wolves, which was working on its first game.[11] The development team includes Tomaszkiewicz's brother and creative director, Mateusz,[10][12] as well as design director Daniel Sadowski, narrative director Jakub Szamalek, and art director Bartłomiej Gaweł, all of whom previously worked on The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077.[11] By May 2024, Rebel Wolves had expanded from around 20 to 90 team members.[10]

The studio envisions the game as the first installment in an eponymous series, describing it as a dark fantasy "narrative sandbox" featuring non-linear quests set in medieval Europe.[10][13] The game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.[11]

Release

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The first trailer for the game was released on January 14, 2025.[14] The Blood of Dawnwalker is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Sinha, Ravi (22 June 2025). "The Blood of Dawnwalker Features Kingdom Come: Deliverance-Style Combat, Boss Fight Revealed". GamingBolt. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  2. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (21 August 2025). "The Blood Of Dawnwalker Is More Than The Witcher With Vampires". Game Informer. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  3. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (30 August 2025). "The Blood of Dawnwalker Offers 2 Very Different RPG Playstyles". IGN. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  4. ^ Gerblick, Jordan (16 January 2025). "Ex-CDPR devs explain how new open-world vampire RPG Blood of Dawnwalker handles its time-limited story, and I'm getting big Persona vibes: "It doesn't require you to rush". GamesRadar. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  5. ^ West, Josh (20 August 2025). "The way The Blood of Dawnwalker plays with time itself is making it one of my most anticipated RPGs of 2026, especially now that Rebel Wolves has changed how closely the camera sticks to your shoulder". GamesRadar. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  6. ^ Trilles, Calvin (14 January 2025). "Medieval Europe falls under vampire rule in Blood of the Dawnwalker RPG — everything we know so far". ONE Esports.
  7. ^ Kain, Erik (14 January 2025). "'The Blood Of Dawnwalker' Trailer Shows Off New Medieval Vampire-Themed RPG From Ex-Witcher Devs Rebel Wolves". Forbes.
  8. ^ Henderson, Luke (14 January 2025). "The Blood of Dawnwalker has been revealed". Maxi-Geek.
  9. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (4 May 2021). "Witcher 3 Director Leaves CD Projekt Following Workplace Bullying Claims". IGN. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d Schreier, Jason (3 May 2024). "Former CD Projekt Developers Take Lessons From 'Cyberpunk' Debacle". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Kim, Matt (17 February 2022). "Rebel Wolves, New Game Studio From The Witcher 3 Director, Is Creating a Dark Fantasy RPG In Unreal Engine 5". IGN. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  12. ^ Dean, Ian (31 January 2024). "Dawnwalker's creative director offers a glimpse of the future: 'more AI'". Creative Bloq. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (21 October 2024). "Dark fantasy action RPG Dawnwalker to be published by Bandai Namco for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  14. ^ Gonzalez, Christina (14 January 2025). "Dark Fantasy 'Narrative Sandbox' The Blood of Dawnwalker Gets In-Engine Cinematic Trailer and First Details". MMORPG.
  15. ^ Williams, Demi (8 June 2025). "The dark fantasy RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker gets first gameplay trailer and a 2026 release window". TechRadar. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
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