Rebel Wolves has revealed the official production budget for The Blood of Dawnwalker. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, studio head Konrad Tomaszkiewicz confirmed the dark fantasy role playing game cost just $40 million to produce. That figure places the project far below the ballooning production costs typical of modern Western blockbusters.
NetEase provided the primary funding after purchasing a 26% equity stake in the Polish studio. Tomaszkiewicz financed operations out of pocket during the first year before external investors joined the project. Despite the controlled budget, the studio launched the game at a standard $70 retail price. The production numbers indicate the title needs roughly 1,000,000 sales to reach its break even threshold.
Managing studio size was a major priority throughout the 4.5 years of active production. Tomaszkiewicz originally planned to cap the team at 90 developers to preserve close internal communication. Growing project ambitions eventually required expanding the staff to 160 people to deliver the game.
We decided that the current size better fits our needs. It still allows me to know everyone personally. I can talk with everyone every day. I still feel like a creator rather than a manager, and that is what I want to continue being.
Players waiting for a follow up will need to prepare for a long wait. Tomaszkiewicz stated that the upcoming sequel will require a longer production cycle to complete. The next entry will move the dark vampire setting into a modern timeline, drawing atmospheric inspiration from classic titles like Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines.
