The Blood of Dawnwalker release date estimate, trailers, and latest news

When is The Blood of Dawnwalker release date estimate? The action RPG is in development by Rebel Wolves, the studio co-founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It was announced on the day of the Wolf Moon, and rather fittingly follows the rise of a powerful clan of vampires in an alternative 14th century.

Set during a time of devastation, this vampire game is a supernatural slant on the events of the plague. Vampires lurk in the darkness, biding their time until the Black Death takes hold of the land, when they seize the opportunity to strike for control while the humans are weak. In Dawnwalker, vampires now reside in the previous lord's castles, these vampires rule over the valley, and it's your job to save your family from them.

The Blood of Dawnwalker release date is "coming 2026" according to an official gameplay overview trailer.

The RPG game will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Bandai Namco has yet to confirm whether it will be available on Xbox Game Pass or whether crossplay and cross-platform support will be available at launch.

The Blood of Dawnwalker trailers

The reveal trailer cinematic introduces us to Coen, desperate to save his dying sister, Lunka. As he tries to flee with his sister wrapped up in a blanket, he's ambushed by soldiers ready to kill her. They didn't, however, anticipate the watchful eyes of head vampire, Brencis, and his army of vampires would choose that moment to kill the group of soldiers and save Coen's sister by turning her into a vampire.

Coen doesn't seem surprised to see them; he even begs for their help and Brencis does save Lunka, all while giving a speech on the carelessness of spilled blood, stating that things will be different going forward. The next clip is Coen standing on the roof of a tall building looking at a blood moon with glassy vampire eyes, so things are quite different after all.

The Blood of Dawnwalker gameplay preview is a comprehensive overview led by Daniel Saddovski, Design Director of Rebel Wolves.  This 20-minute video takes us to the outskirts of Svartrau, the capital of Vale Sangora, a valley in the Carpathian Mountains. Alongside general exploration, it delves into The Blood of Dawnwalker's Witcher-style combat, magic, and skill systems. We also see how exploration is enriched with vampiric powers like Shadowstep and Focus Mode, allowing Coen to traverse rooftops and perceive hidden points of interest.

Saddovski also confirms that The Blood of Dawnwalker is in a "pre-beta stage" at the time of this presentation. While this is an obvious vertical slice for a project that remains a work-in-progress, Dawnwalker's 14th-century narrative sandbox appears polished and well-populated with emergent storylines. The day-night cycle determines Coen's human and vampire forms, but time is a precious resource in its own right. Certain quests must be completed within a certain number of days, and failing to do so can have dire consequences.

The Future Games Show deep dive at Gamescom 2025 revealed more gameplay, with details about the choices available at either daytime or nighttime, and the potential consequences of what happens to your family if you don't save them within the 30 days given. Fortunately, the game doesn't end, and the team confirmed that exploration doesn't consume time, either. We also saw more on combat, including the difference between fighting as a human and a vampire with a sword and abilities.

The latest gameplay overview takes us through one of the quests where Coen must retrieve a sword. Starting out wandering through the cobbled streets of a quaint city, we reach the cathedral during the day, but there are two ways of approaching the mission: either during the day or at night. There are also multiple ways to tackle quests, through stealth or combat, using vampire skills at night, or the ease of walking around during the day to reach different areas.

The Blood of Dawnwalker story

You play as Coen, a young man who's half-man, half-vampire, able to fight as a man during the day and use vampiric abilities at night. The game uses a 30-day, 30-night clock, giving you limited time to save your family.

There have been several dev updates that give us hints about the larger world, and that vampires may not be the only monsters prowling around at night. The latest of these updates hinted very strongly at the existence of lycanthropy, meaning that we're going to be seeing some burly, furry, ferocious creatures in the near future.

The Blood of Dawnwalker gameplay

Dawnwalker is described as a 'narrative sandbox' and is designed for multiple playthroughs, as the open-world content of side quests and exploration is apparently too large to fit into a single playthrough. In the short gameplay clip at the end of the trailer, we see Coen fighting as a human and a vampire, fighting both humans and monsters.

While you wait for more news on The Blood of Dawnwalker release date, check out the best open-world games and the other upcoming games on our radar for 2026 and beyond.