With the recent reports of NetEase seemingly starting to pull out of its international investments, questions have been raised about several studios that the company had invested in. Among these studios is The Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves, with which NetEase has a strategic investment partnership, resulting in the Chinese firm owning a minority stake in the studio.
Rebel Wolves co-owner and chief publishing officer Tomasz Tinc has taken to LinkedIn to clear the air, however, revealing that the studio is doing well, and that The Blood of Dawnwalker‘s production has been funded fully with development progressing at a steady pace.
“First and foremost, thank you for all the warm messages and wishes,” posted Tinc on LinkedIn. “The development of our game is progressing steadily and we’re facing no financial issues.”
“The Blood of Dawnwalker‘s production is fully funded, and we work alongside our partners and friends from Bandai Namco, our game’s global publisher, to bring the first chapter of the Dawnwalker saga to life.”
While NetEase may own a minority stake in Rebel Wolves, Tinc has emphasised that the “vast majority” of ownership of the studio is in the hands of Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other co-owners.
“The vast majority of Rebel Wolves’ ownership rests in the hands of Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other studio co-owners, all of whom are employed by Rebel Wolves,” wrote Tinc. “NetEase is Rebel Wolves’ minority shareholder.”
The partnership between Rebel Wolves and NetEase was announced all the way back in November 2022. Since then, the studio has also partnered up with Bandai Namco to publish The Blood of Dawnwalker. As part of the deal, Bandai Namco will handle the marketing and sales of both physical as well as digital versions of the upcoming RPG.
“Rebel Wolves is a new studio built upon solid foundations: a combination of experience and fresh energy,” said Tinc back when the partnership with Bandai Namco was announced in October 2024. “Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, a company known for its dedication to the role-playing genre and willingness to engage with new IPs, is a perfect match for our wolfpack. Not only does it share our values, but also its track record in publishing narrative-driven RPGs speaks for itself. We’re looking forward to working with them to bring the first chapter of the Dawnwalker saga to gamers worldwide.”
A relatively young studio, the founding of Rebel Wolves was announced back in February 2022. Formed by developers that have previously worked on major AAA RPGs like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, Rebel Wolves is working on its own open world RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker. While it doesn’t yet have a release date, we do know that it is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
More recently, members of the game’s development team have been talking about the title’s unique aspects, such as its in-game time limit that will push players to progress its story and figure out their time management skills, as well as the concept of the “narrative sandbox”.
Creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz had revealed earlier this month that The Blood of Dawnwalker will feature a smaller open world than what players might have been expecting. This ties in with Tomaszkiewicz’s own tastes in games, since he enjoys games with smaller worlds more.
