Blood of Dawnwalker devs explain how the vampire RPG's "narrative sandbox" builds on what they were "known for crafting" in games like The Witcher 3

Former CD Projekt Red veterans have explained how their new vampiric RPG, made at a new studio Rebel Wolves, is building on their past work from games like The Witcher 3.

The Witcher 3's lead quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, who's now the creative director on Blood of the Dawnwalker, explained the game's "narrative sandbox" philosophy in an interview in the latest issue of PC Gamer Magazine. "It's how we allow you, the player, to interact with it," he said. "So the core of it is maximizing players' agency and freedom of choice, while, at the same time delivering the high-quality narratives that we are known for crafting in the past."

The focus on a world full of emotionally-driven characters and impactful choices is still here, but this time the devs are also looking at "maximizing freedom" through it all.

Design director Daniel Sadowski also explained that the team doesn't want their "dynamic" world to feel like it's "waiting for the player all the time, so both action and inaction in Dawnwalker have serious consequences." Kind of like how a little 'Clem will remember that' icon pops up in TellTale's The Walking Dead whenever you refused to pick a dialogue option, but this time with characters that will, actually, hopefully, really remember that.

Tomaszkiewicz emphasizes that those consequences won't just show up in the game's main quest. Side quests or "seemingly inconsequential, smaller activities in the world" are also aiming to have an impact on Dawnwalker's central storyline, very much echoing The Witcher 3's "synergetic approach" to side content.

Blood of the Dawnwalker doesn't have a release date yet, but it'll come to Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC when it's done.

Check out what's next in the pipeline with our guides on all the upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, and new PC games.