Former Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs officially reveal their first game, and yeah it sure looks like vampires

Dawnwalker concept art detail - man with sword leaping from sulphurous cloud over red background

(Image credit: Rebel Wolves)

In February 2022, a group of CD Projekt veterans headed up by Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz announced the launch of a new studio called Rebel Wolves and teased its first project with a bit of concept art that Rich Stanton said gave him "strong vampire vibes." Today, two years later, the studio finally dropped the game's title and some new art, and you know what? It's giving me very strong vampire vibes.

Rebel Wolves' debut game is entitled Dawnwalker, and while no details have been revealed at this point, this new image sure is evocative: The silhouetted figure emerging—almost forming—from the sulphurous cloud, sword above his head, clawlike fingers extended, all of it laid atop a blood-red background just about screams wampir. Or, perhaps, a guy who hunts and kills vampires for fun and money. He does have kind of a Geralt look about him, doesn't he?

Usually we don't comment on rumours. However, since we've heard something through the grapevine... Yes, we are working on Dawnwalker! — (Image credit: Rebel Wolves (Twitter))

Dawnwalker also sounds an awful lot like Daywalker, a term describing vampires who can withstand exposure to sunlight. Blade may be the best-known Daywalker (at least, he's the one I know), which makes me idly wonder if there's any potential here for confusion with Arkane's recently-announced Blade game. At the very least, it's another indication that, yeah, this sure looks like vampires.

Here the new concept art in glorious 4K:

Dawnwalker wallpaper - man with a sword leaping from a sulphurous cloud over a red background — (Image credit: Rebel Wolves)

Rebel Wolves also recently added another CD Projekt alumnus to its lineup: Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, who previously served as lead quest designer on The Witcher 3 and its outstanding Blood and Wine expansion, and quest designer and designer director on Cyberpunk 2077, has joined his former CDPR mates as the studio's creative director.

"Throughout all my years in game development, story-driven role-playing adventures have always been something I was most passionate about," Tomaszkiewicz said. "For me, nothing beats being able to fully immerse myself and discover handcrafted stories and worlds. There are so many fantastic RPGs out there today, however, I feel that there's not only enough space but also a hunger among players for more captivating stories.

"We want to craft a world that you will want to explore and dive deep into and tell stories that make you care about the characters. We aim to deliver an experience that will allow for a variety of choices and room for experimentation when replayed."

The Rebel Wolves website describes Dawnwalker as "our own AAA IP, dark fantasy RPG," that's intended to be the first game in a planned series. The game is now in the "alpha stage of development," and the studio said it will reveal more about what's coming later this year.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.