Rebel Wolves Co-Founder Warns Against Chasing Sales as Blood of Dawnwalker Looms
Rebel Wolves co-founder Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says his studio isn’t trying to “measure” its games by how many millions they sell, arguing that chasing sales targets during development can make a game fail before it even launches. The Blood of Dawnwalker, his studio’s project, is also facing stiff competition as it enters a crowded September release window.
Announcement: studio success isn’t tied to “millions”
In remarks about what it takes for The Blood of Dawnwalker to be considered successful, Tomaszkiewicz emphasized that independent teams still need revenue to keep development going, but he does not want the game’s creative direction dictated by sales numbers. He specifically rejected the idea of evaluating performance in terms of “millions of sales,” framing success around meeting artistic goals and ensuring the next project can be funded.
Practical impact: creativity-first development vs. sales targets
Tomaszkiewicz’s stance boils down to a simple risk he sees in the industry: if a studio constantly thinks about sales while building the game—and tries to shape the product to match those expectations—it can undermine the game’s foundation. He instead describes the studio’s goal as creating new challenges that satisfy its artistic and creative needs, while still acknowledging that “you need to have money” to fund the next stage of production.
- Rejects measuring game success by “millions of sales”
- States that money is still required to create the next part
- Warns that tailoring a game to sales expectations can cause early failure
- Argues the development process should prioritize creative goals and challenges
Platform scope: no platform or patch details provided
The discussion focuses on development philosophy rather than technical changes. The material provided does not include information about platform availability, version-specific updates, or patch notes for The Blood of Dawnwalker.
What comes next: funding the next game, despite a busy release month
The Blood of Dawnwalker is described as having gained enough traction for a relatively successful launch, but it still needs to compete with an “extremely busy” September period. Tomaszkiewicz’s ideal outcome appears to be covering development costs and enabling the studio to continue work on its next game—an approach he describes as uncommon in today’s market.
