With more than one million copies sold just a few days after its release, a "very positive" rating on Steama, and an enviable 83% review score from PC Gamer, vampiric horror RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker is a hit. And less than one week after its debut, developer Rebel Wolves is already planning what comes next.

Unsurprisingly, "what comes next" is more Dawnwalker: Jakub Szamałek, narrative director at developer Rebel Wolves, wrote on LinkedIn (via Dexerto) that "we're not resting on our laurels," but are already thinking about where to take the game from here.

"I'm looking for a lead writer to help me and the narrative team craft the next chapter in the Dawnwalker saga," Szamałek wrote. "We're looking for someone who, to put it bluntly, writes EXCEPTIONALLY well, has a track record of excellence and experience in team management."

The job listing provides more detail about what's involved and it's heavy stuff, with responsibilities ranging from writing in-game documents and dialog to collaborating with the narrative director—that's Szamałek—and other team leads, and managing the entire writers team. You'll also need "a minimum of six years of experience as a writer/narrative designer in the video game industry with a track record of outstanding achievement."

That might sound like a lot for a studio that's only got one game under its belt, but remember that Rebel Wolves was founded by veterans of CD Projekt: Szamałek himself was principal writer on Cyberpunk 2077, Thronebreaker, and the standalone release of Gwent, and before that earned writing credits on The Witcher 3 and its expansions. In fact, numerous CD Projekt personnel took time last week to offer congratulations on the game's launch.

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.