The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the most ambitious games of 2026, driven by Rebel Wolves' desire to "get a few steps closer to pen-and-paper RPGs"

The Blood of Dawnwalker screenshot showing Coen holding a sword — (Image credit: Bandai Namco)

"I believe that RPGs should be about choice. My vision for Rebel Wolves is to get a few steps closer to pen-and-paper RPGs. Where there is a gamemaster who can evolve the story and your experience in different ways once you start taking action, but always to the same goal. That's why we are building this narrative sandbox, and why we want players to have the freedom to shape their own way of playing in the world we are creating."

It is statements like this from Rebel Wolves CEO Konrad Tomaszkiewicz that have helped propel The Blood of Dawnwalker into the stratosphere. The upcoming RPG is one of the most anticipated video games of 2026 for good reason, an open-world dark fantasy adventure set in 14th-century Europe. What sets this experience apart is its concept, where every action (and inaction) shapes the world around you.

"We want players to have the freedom to shape their own way of playing"

You have just 30 days and 30 nights to save your family from the clutches of a centuries-old clan of vampires; the gothic kingdom of Vale Sangora isolated, its citizens enslaved into ritualistic servitude. This world waits for no one. Every quest you accept, and major action you take, moves the clock forward. "Once you leave the prologue area, there are absolutely no handrails, no invisible walls. You know what your goal is – but how (or even if) you reach it is up to you," says narrative director Jakub Szamałek.

The Blood of Dawnwalker matches this concept with incredible pedigree in the RPG space. Rebel Wolves is staffed by a mixture of fresh blood and CD Projekt RED veterans, including the game director, lead quest designer, and a senior writer of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. "It's taken a lot of hard work to get to where we are right now," says Tomaszkiewicz. "When we started Rebel Wolves in 2022, there were just 15 of us."

Coen stands on a rooftop in The Blood of Dawnwalker looking at an under construction church — (Image credit: Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Three years on, Rebel Wolves has over 150 developers working to deliver The Blood of Dawnwalker. "The team is not huge, but it's not that small either," considers Tomaszkiewicz. "When we worked with our colleagues on The Witcher 3, the average headcount during production was 160 and by the end I think it was 205, so there isn't a huge gap."

Scaling so quickly was necessary, because time isn't the only complicating factor in The Blood of Dawnwalker's design. The ability to take on any quest, in any order, with time slipping away as you work towards your ultimate objective is complicated by Coen – the protagonist who is human by day, vampire by night. "Each form offers distinct skills and abilities," says creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, "and most quests can be approached differently during either day or night."

The Blood of Dawnwalker is promising a staggering degree of depth in its narrative sandbox, propagating the sort of freedom and flexibility seldom seen in modern RPGs. Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who also serves as game director, says that he never feared chasing something so ambitious for Rebel Wolves' debut project.

The Blood of Dawnwalker screenshot — Image credit: Bandai Namco

"I know how to make AAA games, and my experience is in creating story-driven RPGs set in an open world. We wanted to take what we know and evolve the genre. It feels like my dreams are being fulfilled right now, and I'm so happy that we can pursue innovations with total freedom," he tells me. "We knew where we were going from the start. We didn't need to fight anybody to achieve what we wanted to achieve. If you want to do something new, something crazy, going independent is the best way to do it."

"I'm really happy with where the game is today. I'm also really happy that we have the team that we have. That we have created this world together. That there's a great atmosphere without crunch. We've just been so inspired to fight for AAA quality and find creative solutions to new problems," says Tomaszkiewicz. "The Blood of Dawnwalker is going to be really fun – which is important to say, because having fun is the most important thing!"

Blood of Dawnwalker release information — (Image credit: Future)

Learn more about The Blood of Dawnwalker as part of our Big in 2026 Spotlight series. Every day this week we are diving deeper into Rebel Wolves' narrative sandbox. We're exploring the the studio's open-ended approach to quest design, how combat leverages Coen's human and vampire natures, and going into more depth on the time resource system which draws all of these ideas together.

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