The Blood of Dawnwalker News: Sales, Patches and Updates

NEXTARCA's coverage of The Blood of Dawnwalker in one place, newest first. Rebel Wolves' debut dark fantasy RPG launched in early September 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S and passed one million copies sold within days. Below are the sales milestone, Hotfix 1.0.4, the reported budget and the plans for the first major update.

September 22, 2026: The Blood of Dawnwalker Is Making Combat More Accessible in Its First Major Update

Update (October 26, 2026): Update 1.1 is out. This article first previewed the update from a developer interview; it now reports the official patch notes.

The Blood of Dawnwalker's first major update, Update 1.1, went live on Steam on October 22, 2026. Rebel Wolves' official patch notes confirm the changes the studio had promised for combat: a new easiest Story mode, better targeting and an easier way to get out of fights. The update also adds a full ability reset, more subtitle options, a merchant buyback and a long list of fixes.

A new Story mode, and the old one is now called Forgiving

The difficulty that used to be called Story is now named Forgiving, and a new Story mode sits below it with additional combat assist. Players who mainly want to follow Coen's journey can pick the new mode, while anyone happy with the old setting keeps it under its new name.

Combat: targeting, locking on and disengaging

The patch notes list improved targeting, locking onto and disengaging from enemies, with adjusted animations and camera movements in combat. Targeting and attaching to surfaces with Shadowstep and Planeshift are more responsive. Guards and wraiths now properly leave combat and return to their posts, and a bug that blocked all abilities after running away from a fight is fixed.

Some fights were also toned down: boars and wolves have less health on higher levels, the wolves between Sandy Gorge and Sanzhani are no longer overly aggressive, and a cathedral guard who could kill Coen in one hit before level 30 was nerfed.

New features

• Draught of Mind Rebirth: forget all your Swordmastery, Witchcraft and Vampirism abilities and spend the time you put into them on a different set.

• Animal petting.

• Subtitle settings: a larger font size, and subtitles for every dialogue line.

• Merchants and gear: a Buyback option, equipped items hidden when selling, items that can sit in both the day and night presets at once, and rebalanced upgrade costs, especially at higher levels.

• Settings: an updated FrameGen with its own settings, and controller deadzone options.

• Japan: blood and gore are no longer censored in the Japanese version on Steam.

Fixes and stability

Most of the notes are fixes: crashes when using Voracious Bite, reading books or letters and loading saves, infinite loading screens in several quests, short freezes when saving or loading, frame rate drops on Shadowstep and the world map, and many quest, map and navigation bugs. One issue is still open: the game may crash when FrameGen is switched from off to on, on the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT only.

The notes were posted for the Steam version. Rebel Wolves did not give dates for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S in the same post, so console players should check their platform's update notes.

September 19, 2026: Rebel Wolves Built The Blood of Dawnwalker With a Reported $40 Million Budget

The Blood of Dawnwalker reportedly cost approximately $40 million to develop, a notably controlled budget for an ambitious modern role-playing game. The figure comes from Bloomberg reporting based on conversations with Polish developer Rebel Wolves.

The reported amount covers development rather than the complete commercial cost of the game. Marketing expenses handled through publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment were not included, meaning $40 million should not be treated as the total amount spent bringing the project to players.

Bloomberg also reported that The Blood of Dawnwalker had already sold more than one million copies. That combination of a controlled production budget and a strong opening gives the game additional significance beyond its performance as a new role-playing property.

The $40 million budget came from an early NetEase investment

Rebel Wolves was formed after game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz left CD Projekt. Tomaszkiewicz and writer Jakub Szamałek began developing the studio’s first project in 2021 before assembling a team, creating a prototype, and seeking outside investment.

Tomaszkiewicz reportedly financed the studio during its first year. By the end of 2022, NetEase had acquired a 26 percent stake in Rebel Wolves and provided the $40 million development budget.

The studio then spent much of 2023 recruiting developers before entering full production near the end of that year. This gave Rebel Wolves a relatively short production period for an open-world action RPG built with Unreal Engine 5.

Bandai Namco later joined the project as publisher and marketing partner. The arrangement gave Rebel Wolves commercial support without placing those marketing expenses inside the reported development figure.

Rebel Wolves kept its original vision intact

One of the most important details behind the budget is how Rebel Wolves controlled the scope of the project.

According to Bloomberg, the studio tried to preserve the main creative foundations established in its original 2022 pitch. Changing those foundations during production could have forced the team to rebuild quests, systems, environments, or narrative branches, increasing both cost and development time.

The studio also reportedly produced only one major demo instead of repeatedly preparing separate presentations throughout development. Demos can require developers to pause regular production and polish unfinished sections for public or internal viewing.

Rebel Wolves still grew beyond its initial target. The team had around 90 employees when production was beginning in 2024 and eventually expanded to approximately 160 people. Studio leadership now intends to limit further growth while maintaining a structure where senior creators can remain involved with daily development.

The reported budget therefore does not mean the game was inexpensive or small. It reflects a production built around a comparatively focused team, clearly defined design pillars, and an effort to avoid costly changes after development was underway.

The September release was chosen over a faster June launch

Rebel Wolves reportedly considered releasing The Blood of Dawnwalker in June 2026. Doing so would have created a tighter schedule and increased the risk of exhausting the development team.

The studio instead selected a September launch, even though that placed the game in a crowded release period. The decision was partly intended to reduce the kind of extensive overtime some team members had experienced while working at CD Projekt.

For players, that context helps explain why disciplined scheduling matters. A smaller budget alone does not produce a successful game. Production goals, team size, creative consistency, and the willingness to protect development time can be equally important.

The budget does not confirm how profitable the game is

More than one million copies sold against a reported $40 million development budget creates a promising commercial picture, but it does not confirm the game’s profit.

Retail pricing cannot simply be multiplied by copies sold to calculate what Rebel Wolves earned. Platform fees, regional pricing, retailer shares, taxes, publisher agreements, physical manufacturing, marketing, post launch support, and other expenses all affect the final result.

Neither Rebel Wolves nor Bandai Namco has publicly provided a complete financial breakdown. The total marketing budget, revenue distribution, and amount required for the project to recover all costs remain undisclosed.

What can be said is that The Blood of Dawnwalker reached a major sales milestone while working from a development budget considerably below the several hundred million dollar totals associated with some modern blockbuster games.

The result offers a useful example for players and studios following the rising cost of game development. A clear creative direction cannot remove every production risk, but Rebel Wolves appears to have used it to keep an ambitious debut from expanding beyond its available resources.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Rebel Wolves has not announced a complete financial report covering the game’s marketing costs, revenue, or current profitability.

September 10, 2026: The Blood of Dawnwalker Hotfix 1.0.4 Patch Notes and Fixes

Rebel Wolves is rolling out Hotfix 1.0.4 for The Blood of Dawnwalker, addressing several problems that could interfere with saving, quest progression and normal gameplay. The update is being deployed across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with additional platform-specific fixes included for PC and Steam players.

The most important changes concern issues capable of stopping players from making progress. Rebel Wolves says Hotfix 1.0.4 fixes a problem that could prevent the game from being saved, alongside multiple quest-related blockers and broader stability improvements.

Hotfix 1.0.4 focuses on progression and gameplay problems

Several fixes target situations where Coen could become stuck or quests could fail to progress correctly.

During the tutorial, using Voracious Bite too quickly could previously prevent progression. Hotfix 1.0.4 addresses that problem, while also fixing cases where Coen could become trapped inside certain houses without a way to leave. The update additionally corrects an issue that could disable blocking under specific circumstances and makes adjustments to controller dead zones and sprinting input behavior.

Dialogue behavior has also been cleaned up. Crake can now speak with Coen during his training sequence, while NPCs that have already died should no longer initiate conversations.

For players who encountered any of these problems during normal exploration or early-game progression, the practical benefit of the update is straightforward: fewer situations should require reloading an earlier save or finding a workaround simply to continue playing.

Multiple quests receive targeted fixes

Hotfix 1.0.4 contains a substantial group of quest-specific corrections.

The Deep Down quest has been updated to prevent Coen from becoming trapped inside a cave, while a problem preventing Murohn from spawning under certain conditions has also been addressed. Rebel Wolves has corrected one possible route through Hive and Seek that could end prematurely, as well as an infinite loading problem associated with progressing On the Run.

The update also fixes a soft-lock that could occur after following Sara and addresses a progression blocker in The Heart Wants What It Wants.

Other changes are smaller but still affect how individual quests behave. A Lone Wolf's Hunt should now display its intended difficulty level, while investigating the rag during Smoke and Ashes has been made optional. Ocha should also no longer turn hostile toward Coen simply because guards attack him.

Taken together, these fixes make quest reliability the clearest focus of Hotfix 1.0.4 rather than adding new missions or gameplay systems.

PC and Steam players get additional technical fixes

The patch contains several changes specific to PC.

On Steam, Rebel Wolves says connecting a controller while using outdated GameInput software should no longer result in FPS drops. PC players using FSR Frame Generation also receive a fix for VSync-related problems.

A separate fix addresses Quality preset mods that were not applying correctly.

These technical changes sit alongside the hotfix's general stability improvements, although Rebel Wolves has not published performance measurements showing the extent of the stability changes. Players therefore should not interpret Hotfix 1.0.4 as a broader performance overhaul beyond the specific fixes the studio has documented.

Audio, visual and unusual bugs are cleaned up

Not every change in the update deals with progression.

Rebel Wolves has fixed problems that could cause music to stop during the prologue. Coen and Iorgu should also correctly drink from their cups when playing on lower graphical settings.

One of the more unusual fixes prevents torches from continuing to grow uncontrollably. The studio also notes that a red pipe asset that was not supposed to be used has been removed.

These are comparatively minor next to the save and quest fixes, but they show Hotfix 1.0.4 addressing issues across multiple areas of the game rather than concentrating exclusively on crashes.

What Hotfix 1.0.4 means for players

For current players, the save-game fix and progression corrections are the changes with the greatest immediate impact. Problems that prevent saving or leave a quest unable to continue can directly interrupt a playthrough, so resolving those issues is more significant than the update's smaller visual and interaction adjustments.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is developed by Rebel Wolves and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Its official Steam page lists the game as a single-player action RPG and records its PC release on September 2, 2026.

Rebel Wolves has not used the Hotfix 1.0.4 announcement to confirm new content, DLC, balance changes or a future update schedule. For now, the patch is primarily a corrective release focused on stability, progression and technical problems already identified in the game.

Players experiencing one of the affected issues should ensure their version has received Hotfix 1.0.4 as the update continues rolling out across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Players can also follow NEXTARCA's Games section for game information and future coverage.

September 5, 2026: The Blood of Dawnwalker Hits 1 Million Sales

The Blood of Dawnwalker has passed one million copies sold worldwide only days into its launch, giving developer Rebel Wolves a major commercial milestone with its very first game. The studio announced the achievement on September 5, following the RPG's September 3 release for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The milestone arrives remarkably early in the life of a new property. Unlike a sequel entering the market with an established audience, The Blood of Dawnwalker is the opening chapter of an original RPG saga and Rebel Wolves' debut release. The developer itself describes Dawnwalker as its first game, while Bandai Namco confirmed that the title launched on September 3 after more than four years of development.

Rebel Wolves marked the sales achievement through The Blood of Dawnwalker's official social channels with a celebratory graphic and a brief message thanking players for playing, sharing and supporting the community. Multiple reports identify the figure as more than one million copies sold worldwide.

A major opening for Rebel Wolves' first RPG

Crossing the million-sales threshold so close to release gives The Blood of Dawnwalker a notable opening, particularly because Rebel Wolves is launching both a new game and a new fantasy property at the same time.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is an open-world dark fantasy action RPG set in a supernatural interpretation of 14th-century Europe. Players follow Coen, a young man who exists as a human during the day and a vampire at night while trying to save his family in Vale Sangora. The game uses that dual identity across its combat, exploration and narrative systems.

It is currently available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Bandai Namco serving as publisher. Rebel Wolves developed the game using Unreal Engine 5.

The sales announcement does not currently include a platform-by-platform breakdown, so it isn't possible to determine how many of those copies came from PC, PlayStation or Xbox. Revenue figures have not been disclosed either. Those numbers should not be inferred from the one-million-copy announcement.

There is also an important distinction regarding the widely reported "48-hour" figure. The game launched on September 3 and the milestone was announced on September 5, making it a two-day post-launch announcement by calendar date. However, Rebel Wolves' public message did not separately disclose the exact timestamp at which the millionth copy was sold. One report calculated that the announcement itself came more than 48 hours after the Steam release, so treating one million sales as confirmed while avoiding an overly precise hourly claim is the safer interpretation.

The result gives the wider Dawnwalker saga an early boost

The milestone also matters beyond the performance of a single release.

Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco have already positioned The Blood of Dawnwalker as part of a broader Dawnwalker saga. Before launch, the developer revealed that future installments are intended to explore different historical periods, locations and cultures while telling individual stories. The current game itself is designed to reach a self-contained conclusion rather than relying on an unresolved ending to set up another installment.

That makes the initial sales performance significant: a million-copy start gives the new property a substantial audience almost immediately.

It does not, however, confirm a release date, production status or development schedule for the next Dawnwalker game. Rebel Wolves has outlined the larger creative direction of the saga, but no specific sequel launch plans should be inferred from the sales milestone.

What the milestone means for players

For existing players, the announcement doesn't change the game itself. There is no new DLC, expansion or content roadmap attached to the million-sales announcement.

Its significance is instead commercial. The Blood of Dawnwalker has demonstrated substantial demand at launch for Rebel Wolves' approach to a single-player, story-focused RPG, and it has done so with the studio's first release rather than an established franchise sequel.

That provides a stronger foundation for the Dawnwalker property as Rebel Wolves considers where to take the saga next.

For newcomers, the game is available now on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The official launch followed more than four years of development, according to Bandai Namco, with Rebel Wolves expanding to a team of around 160 people by release.

The next sales milestone remains unknown. Rebel Wolves has not announced a timetable for another sales update, nor has it disclosed the current split between digital and physical copies or between individual platforms.

For now, the confirmed figure is already substantial: The Blood of Dawnwalker has crossed one million copies sold only days after opening the gates to Vale Sangora.

NEXTARCA's take

The Blood of Dawnwalker had the kind of launch a new studio hopes for: strong sales on a modest reported budget, followed by quick fixes. The planned easiest difficulty and the targeting and stun changes show Rebel Wolves listening to players who found the combat a barrier. Check the game's Steam news page for the official notes before you count on a specific problem being fixed.