Ex-CD Projekt Red developers reveal upcoming dark fantasy RPG Dawnwalker

Rebel Wolves is a studio founded by developers who used to work in CD Projekt Red, the company responsible for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. The team announced the formation of the studio way back in February 2022, but this is the first time we’ve heard some news about what they’re working on. They’ve revealed that their debut game would be Dawnwalker, a story-driven dark fantasy RPG.

Besides the game’s title, the developers also unveiled a wallpaper, hinting at what Dawnwalker’s theme would be upon release.

The Team Behind Rebel Wolves

After the chaotic entrance of Cyberpunk 2077, multiple groups of former developers in CD Projekt Red left the company to pursue independent projects. Most recently, a new studio filled with ex-employees of CJ Projekt, known as Blank, was formed. Rebel Wolves is a different group formed in early 2022, and after two years, they finally offered us a look into what they’re working on.

Rebel Wolves was created by The Witcher 3 game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who was also the secondary game director and head of production for Cyberpunk 2077. He envisions Rebel Wolves as a place where experienced game developers can reignite their passion and pour their hearts into an amazing, ambitious title.

The studio wanted to break away from the weight of AAA development studios and approach every goal as a team. After they departed from CJ Projekt in February 2022, they began filling various remote and in-house roles. While Rebel Wolves is based in Warsaw, Poland, multiple remote employees work for the studio worldwide.

The core team is comprised of animation director Tamara Zawada (Shadow Warrior 2, The Witcher 3), design director Daniel Sadowski (The Witcher 1), art director Bartlomiej Gawel (The Witcher 1, 2, 3), main writer and narrative director Jakub Szamalek (Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Thronebreaker), studio head Robert Murzynowski, and chief financial officer Michal Boryka, with Konrad Tomaszkiewicz as the founder.

What’s Dawnwalker All About?

Billed as Rebel Wolves’ dream team project, Dawnwalker is a dark fantasy adventure that appears to be set in the Middle Ages. The studio states it’s a “AAA IP, story-driven RPG saga built for PCs and next-generation consoles.” Dawnwalker has officially entered the alpha stage of development. Rebel Wolves plans to share more information about the game later this year.

The wallpaper the devs have revealed shows a man leaping through the air with a sword; however, his left-hand looks somewhat monstrous. Combining that with the game’s title and the image’s blood-red color, many speculate that Dawnwalker might have a vampiric theme to it.

The reason for this is that Dawnwalker is a play on the word Daywalker, which is a term sometimes used in stories to describe vampire-human hybrids that are capable of walking in the sun. These hints have led us to think that we will get a high fantasy story that focuses on vampires, which might be inspired by The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

Rebel Wolves didn’t share any more information about Dawnwalker beyond their previous statements and the image they shared on their Twitter/X account, so questions about its mechanics, premise, narrative, and platforms are out the window until they’re answered (hopefully) this year. Until then, the promotional art should help fuel the imaginations of what the team is cooking.