The open-world vampire RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, developed by ex-CDPR developers at Rebel Wolves, aims for The Witcher 3's quality, albeit in a more focused experience. Discover more about this ambitious title and the creators' vision.

The Blood of Dawnwalker: Aiming for AAA Quality

30-40 Hour Main Campaign

In a conversation with GamesRadar, Creative Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz clarified Rebel Wolves' ambition. Despite being a smaller studio debuting its first game, the team is striving for AAA quality, referencing The Witcher 3 as their benchmark. Addressing the often-blurred lines between AA and AAA, Tomaszkiewicz emphasized their commitment to AAA-level quality: "In terms of quality, we definitely look at AAA, because this is where we are coming from, the quality level of The Witcher 3."

Rebel Wolves isn't a team of newcomers. Composed of former CD Projekt Red developers who contributed to The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, they bring substantial experience. Mateusz and his brother Konrad founded the studio to pursue greater creative freedom, unburdened by the constraints of a large AAA studio.

Tomaszkiewicz acknowledges the game's smaller scope compared to AAA behemoths: "Definitely, our games are not as huge in terms of amount of content and gameplay hours – we are a smaller studio, this is our first project, so we definitely are building something smaller. But we want to build something as robust in terms of quality, maybe a bit shorter." He targets a 30-40 hour campaign, a length he argues doesn't automatically disqualify it from AAA status, citing examples like Call of Duty.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is a narrative-driven, open-world dark fantasy RPG set in Vale Sangora. Players assume the role of Coen, a young peasant imbued with vampiric powers after a fateful encounter. Coen's quest is to save his ailing sister, navigating the dangers and complexities of this dark world.

While a release date remains unannounced, the game is slated for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A gameplay reveal is planned for Summer 2025.