At the Summer Game Fest, the “The Witcher” veterans not only presented a new trailer for “The Blood of Dawnwalker”, but also dropped an absolute bombshell: main character Coen will accompany us through the centuries – into the modern age.
With „The Blood of Dawnwalker“ the former makers of „The Witcher 3“ an extremely promising dark fantasy role-playing game in the pipeline under the banner of their new studio Rebel Wolves. And as part of the Summer Game Fest, the title was presented in a fresh trailer.
But that wasn’t all: a second video gave a spectacular glimpse of the future of the franchise and caused a real surprise that probably caught many fans off guard. The developers are planning their vampire saga across generations.
Vampire in the Modern Age
So the teaser threw us into a completely unexpected scenario without warning and showed Coen, the well-known protagonist of “The Blood of Dawnwalker”, visibly marked by the centuries, in the middle of a modern apartment in the 21st century.
Only then did the video switch to the actual gameplay of the upcoming game, which takes us to the year 1347 in the fall. One thing is certain: Rebel Wolves is not planning a single game, but rather a gigantic “Dawnwalker” saga that spans epochs and continents.
Since such a stylistic break can cause confusion at first, game director and studio co-founder Konrad Tomaszkiewicz spoke up immediately after the show to explain the radical approach and at the same time give the all-clear:
“I have the feeling that today’s presentation may have surprised many of you who did not expect Coen’s saga to move into the modern era. However, I would like to emphasize that each part of the series will be a standalone game with its own story, without narrative cliffhangers, unresolved storylines or time travel ideas,” the game director clarified.
It continues: “Since the inception of Rebel Wolves, we have made it abundantly clear that we aim for a self-contained story for The Blood of Dawnwalker. Now, as we approach the release of the first chapter, we wanted to shed a little more light on our larger perspective and tease where the story ultimately leads.”
“Other eras, other places and other cultures”
For all fans of classic dark fantasy, this means in plain language: “The Blood of Dawnwalker” will take place exclusively in the 14th century – without sci-fi elements, time travel or unsatisfactory story gaps.
This was also made clear by the second trailer, which is dedicated to Coen’s origin story in the plague-infested, fictional Carpathian valley Vale Sangora. There he takes on the brutal vampire lord Brencis in order to save his family. How the story ends is determined by your own actions. But as we now know, Coen inevitably ends up in the future.
Given the narrative potential of the franchise, narrative director Jakub Szamalek is also enthusiastic. Finally, you can use the half-vampire hero’s immortality to explore entirely new historical eras, cultures and locations around the world in future games.
“The next installments of his saga will bring new stories and new characters, but they will be set in different eras, places and cultures. Writing the story for projects of this scale is an incredibly fulfilling endeavor,” said Szamalek.
However, attentive story fans should keep their eyes peeled for Coen’s first adventure: “And although the conflict between Coen and Brencis will reach its conclusion in The Blood of Dawnwalker, attentive players will certainly come across breadcrumbs that are related to the overarching plot of the saga.”
“The Blood of Dawnwalker” will be released on September 3, 2026 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
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