"We are more effective than bigger teams": Ahead of Blood of Dawnwalker's release next year, Rebel Wolves lead says he doesn't want the studio to grow
"Because we don't have so many people, people feel responsible for some parts of the game, and feel ownership of it. And I think that this is the most important thing"
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves isn't looking to increase in size any time soon, and that isn't just in response to the general turbulence happening in the industry right now - it's also a form of creative design.
Talking to GamesRadar+, The Witcher 3 director and Rebel Wolves founder Konrad Tomaszkiewicz explained the benefit of sticking with a relatively small team.
Earlier this year, Dawnwalker creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz told me Rebel Wolves had been employing around 120 people, and his brother Konrad says that number has now crept up to 155.
"I hoped that we could stay with 80 or 90 of us," Konrad Tomaszkiewicz tells us. "But the game is ambitious, and we needed to gather more people."
Still, it's important to Tomaszkiewicz that he remains engaged at all levels of the project and in contact with everyone working on it, and that's the main reason he doesn't want the team to expand any further.
"I don't want to grow because I'm afraid that we will lose the contact [between management and developers]," he says. "I like how it is right now. I like to work with people every day and create with them, not be somewhere and have layers of management just watching the final effect. I want to work with people. Not be a boss, but a leader."
Tomaszkiewicz says the "creative fire" that ignites under direct communication between leadership and ground-level employees is the "most important" aspect in the creation of a game.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
"When you set up the goal in a clear way, and you have a reasonable-sized team with whom you can discuss it and agree for some direction, it's easier to keep this spirit and have people motivated.
"And to be honest, what I experience right now is that we are more effective than bigger teams, because in huge teams, you need to manage in a different way, like you have really granular tasks for people ... and here, because we don't have so many people, people feel responsible for some parts of the game, and feel ownership of it. And I think that this is the most important thing."
Blood of Dawnwalker is scheduled to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC sometime in 2026.

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.
- Ali JonesManaging Editor, News
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.


