How The Blood of Dawnwalker's Romance Options Work With Its Calendar System

The Blood of Dawnwalker‘s romance options will be implemented somewhat differently compared to a traditional RPG, according to developer Rebel Wolves. The difference stems from the game’s atypical structure, which uses a calendar system that advances with every major action, forcing The Blood of Dawnwalker players to prioritize how they spend their time.

Announced in early 2024 and revealed a year later, The Blood of the Dawnwalker is an open-world RPG made by some CD Projekt Red veterans who previously worked on The Witcher franchise, later setting out to establish their own studio called Rebel Wolves. The Polish studio is currently in the final stretch of development on its debut title, which is planned for release in September 2026 and will be published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Borrows A Key Zelda: Breath of the Wild Feature

Coming from former Witcher 3 devs, The Blood of Dawnwalker is an upcoming action-RPG that seemingly borrows a key Zelda: Breath of the Wild feature.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Will Have Multiple Romance Options That Will Expand on Coen’s Character

Ahead of the game’s launch, director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz confirmed that The Blood of Dawnwalker will feature multiple romance options, albeit without outright listing them. Speaking to IGN, the industry veteran said romance will not be the focus of the game, which primarily follows Coen, a man turned into a half-vampire as he tries to save his family. Even so, Tomaszkiewicz wanted to include romantic questlines for two reasons: because a sizable portion of modern open-world RPG players expect them in some form, and because Rebel Wolves saw them as an opportunity to further flesh out Coen.

At Least Some of the Game’s Romance Quests Will Advance the Time

The Blood of Dawnwalker‘s almost Persona-like calendar system will be a major factor influencing its romance options. Tomaszkiewicz acknowledged that players trying to “min-max” their limited time may conclude that matters of the heart are not worth pursuing, suggesting that some or all romantic plotlines will be treated as major activities that advance time. For reference, The Blood of Dawnwalker gives players 30 in-game days and nights to complete Coen’s story.

The optional nature of the game’s romance options reflects the wider design philosophy Rebel Wolves is pursuing with its debut title. More broadly, The Blood of Dawnwalker will let players tackle its regions in any order, kill any NPC, and, if things go wrong, fail every quest without being locked out of finishing the game. That emphasis on choice also promises to give the upcoming RPG significant replay value. Rebel Wolves previously suggested that making every quest failable was relatively straightforward because The Blood of Dawnwalker was designed around the idea of not having a traditional main quest. Players will technically be able to try rescuing Coen’s family on day one, though that may prove too demanding, at least on an initial playthrough.

Guess the games from the emojis.

Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)

In related news, The Blood of Dawnwalker has just locked down a release date: September 3, 2026. Rebel Wolves’ RPG will launch for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, starting at $69.99. A $79.99 Eclipse Edition has also been revealed, with both now available for pre-order across every target platform. As things currently stand, The Blood of Dawnwalker will debut as one of the final big-budget games before the industry slowdown expected around GTA 6‘s mid-November launch. The RPG was previously announced as the first entry in a planned trilogy.