Rebel Wolves’ September release The Blood of Dawnwalker was built with a mere $40 million budget, according to new reporting that sheds light on how the Warsaw, Poland-based studio delivered an acclaimed open-world RPG without the blockbuster price tags typical of its genre. Developed by Rebel Wolves and published by Bandai Namco, the game launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on September 3, 2026, arriving to strong critical reception and solid commercial performance that has now cleared the path toward sequels.
The financial details emerged from a Bloomberg report covering the studio’s behind-the-scenes operations. According to the information, Rebel Wolves managed to bring The Blood of Dawnwalker to life and find a solid audience with little more than the $40 million budget supplied by NetEase Inc., which also acquired 26% of the studio as part of its investment.
A Modest Budget in an Expensive Industry
The $40 million figure comfortably places The Blood of Dawnwalker in the AA space rather than the AAA realm, where games frequently carry heftier price tags. For comparison, IO Interactive’s 007 First Light reportedly carried a budget of more than $200 million. Sony’s struggling Marathon game is said to have had a similar budget, with titles like The Last of Us Part 2 and Horizon Forbidden West also reportedly in that range.
A relatively modest budget meant the risk for Rebel Wolves, NetEase, and publisher Bandai Namco wasn’t quite as great, but it doesn’t seem to have impacted the game’s achievements. Metacritic recorded that The Blood of Dawnwalker has received “Generally Favorable” reviews from both critics and users alike. IGN awarded it a 9/10, calling it “an impressive, bloody cocktail of interesting ideas and well-written characters, making it one of this year’s best open-world RPGs.”
“We decided that the size of the team we have right now is the most fitting for our needs. It’s still letting me know everyone. I can speak with everyone every day. I still feel like a creator and not a manager, which is the place I want to be.”
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Rebel Wolves
Sales Success and Player Momentum
The game’s commercial performance has drawn praise from within the studio. Rebel Wolves told Bloomberg it is “extremely” happy with what it has seen so far, including reaching more than 1 million copies sold in just a few days. SteamDB has reported that player numbers for the single-player RPG are holding strong as well, with the game currently boasting a 24-hour peak of 24,495 concurrent users after hitting a peak of 78,188 shortly after launch.
The studio’s journey to this point began in 2022, when game designer Konrad Tomaszkiewicz worked on early versions of Rebel Wolves’ first title with a small team. Previously one of the leading developers behind games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, Tomaszkiewicz self-funded the project for that first year as the team hammered out its prototype in hopes of finding a partner, with NetEase later stepping in to fund the game while acquiring its stake.
Growing Ambitions Without Losing Identity
Tomaszkiewicz told Bloomberg that his original goal was to keep Rebel Wolves from growing too much, but as ambitions grew, so did the team. The studio employed around 90 staff in 2024 but has since ballooned to encompass 160 members. Now, as they charge ahead on The Blood of Dawnwalker sequels and more projects, Tomaszkiewicz said they “don’t want to overdo it.”
The developer’s confidence appears well-founded given the debut title’s reception. As work on additional projects happens behind closed doors, more updates for Rebel Wolves’ debut title are also on the way. New Game Plus was recently confirmed to be in the works, offering players a reason to return to the game’s world.
With sequels already in development and fresh content arriving for its current release, The Blood of Dawnwalker has established both a commercial foundation and a creative identity that Rebel Wolves intends to build upon without sacrificing the lean approach that made its debut possible.
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