The Blood of Dawnwalker released last week to sky-high expectations, and largely delivered. The open-world dark fantasy RPG, directed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz of The Witcher 3 fame, launched to "mostly positive" Steam reviews and, despite a few outliers including our own 3/5 star review, largely glowing impressions from critics as well. Crucially, it seems CD Projekt Red fans are turning out in droves for Rebel Wolves' debut title, with one analyst reporting that a majority of The Blood of Dawnwalker's Steam player base previously played The Witcher 3, an unexpectedly huge crossover.

As reported by Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott, the "premium" game whose player base most crosses over with The Blood of Dawnwalker's is the Witcher 3. That's not a surprise considering Tomaszkiewicz's involvement, but what is surprising to me is just how many Witcher 3 players are turning out for Rebel Wolves so quickly after launch. According to Elliott, 58% of Blood of Dawnwalker players on Steam are The Witcher 3 players, proving CDPR fans stay loyal to individual developers even when those developers have moved on from CDPR itself.

Personally, I'm among the class of RPG enjoyers who've tried countless times in earnest to get into The Witcher 3 but couldn't for some unknown reason. Meanwhile, I'm only a few hours into The Blood of Dawnwalker and so far it's everything I was hoping for and more. Its world, lore, and characters are as richly developed as I was expecting from a team of CDPR vets, but the thing I'm surprised by the most is the time-as-a-resource mechanic and how essential it feels to the whole experience. I always liked the idea on paper but felt hesitant about being bound by it in the main mission, but it never feels cumbersome and adds a sense of urgency that makes the world feel more alive and reactive.

Even in the short time I've played both games, it's easy to see The Witcher 3's influence everywhere in The Blood of Dawnwalker, from its grimdark setting and branching narrative to its fast, fluid swordplay and deep RPG systems. Dawnwalker isn't seeing the universal acclaim of The Witcher 3, but there's a chance its standing among RPG fandom improves as players have more time to dig into its world, not to mention the "saga" of sequels Rebel Wolves is planning.

If you're just starting out, here are the best Prologue quests to do before Mass in The Blood of Dawnwalker.

The Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves has been clear from the start: it wants to turn the vampire RPG into a multi-game "saga" where your choices carry forward between each entry in the series. With 1 million copies sold in just a handful of days, it seems the devs have no reason to pump the brakes on those plans, either, so they're already hiring to continue the story forward.

"The Blood of Dawnwalker released to critical acclaim and sold over one million copies in the opening weekend," narrative director Jakub Szamalek says in a LinkedIn post (via ResetEra). "But! We're not resting on our laurels – no, siree! We're already thinking about [what] comes next. And so! Drum roll please! I'm looking for a Lead Writer to help me and the narrative team craft the next chapter in the Dawnwalker saga."

The actual job listing doesn't offer any additional meaningful information on what to expect from the sequel – in fact, it's written as if The Blood of Dawnwalker hadn't yet been released. "We're looking for someone who, to put it bluntly, writes EXCEPTIONALLY well," Szamalek explains, and someone who "has a track record of excellence and experience in team management."

I'm only a handful of hours into The Blood of Dawnwalker, so this part isn't a spoiler: the story will take us into a modern-day setting as Coen's story carries on. The devs themselves confirmed as much in a Summer Game Fest trailer teasing the future of the budding franchise.

"When you have the last save, your choices will go with you," CEO and game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz told us at the time. "From the beginning, we were telling people that we're planning a saga, and right now, this is the proof that we are doing it."

But it's not always assured that new studios, even those with veteran developers at the wheel, will get to continue working after launching their first game. After all, it was just last week that we learned that many of the developers behind the excellent Star Wars: Zero Company were quietly furloughed just before launch.

Rebel Wolves seems to have escaped an unfortunate fate, however. The Blood of Dawnwalker launched on September 3, and by September 5, the developers announced that it had already hit 1 million copies sold. Not a bad start for a new team – even if that Witcher 3 pedigree is certainly playing a part.

Our The Blood of Dawnwalker review praised the game's worldbuilding and hands-off approach, but we were also hungry for a little more, so a sequel sounds just fine.

With how long it takes to beat The Blood of Dawnwalker, we've at least got a meaty adventure to replay a few times before the sequel drops.