When people talk about the 2026 release calendar, there is one title that instantly jumps to mind: GTA 6. Rockstar’s next open-world blockbuster, now pushed to the end of the year, is expected to shatter records and may well become the biggest launch in video game history. Most studios will quietly clear the runway rather than face that kind of juggernaut head-on, but one dark fantasy RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, has no intention of bowing its head – for Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and his team at Rebel Wolves, lining up near Rockstar is a chance to prove what they can do.

Thinking about games scheduled for 2026, it is almost impossible not to picture GTA 6. After the recent delay, Rockstar’s new open-world epic is now targeting a late-year release, arriving with the clear goal of smashing sales records and cementing itself as one of the biggest events the medium has ever seen. Its launch window will inevitably warp the schedule around it, as many projects look for safer dates, but one title is not afraid of sharing the spotlight with a giant: The Blood of Dawnwalker.

This vampire-themed RPG is the new project from Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, best known for directing The Witcher 3, and it has quickly become a game to watch for fans of both dark medieval fantasy and Geralt of Rivia’s last adventure. The only commitment so far is a broad 2026 launch window, with no precise day on the calendar, yet the director has made it clear that even a direct overlap with Grand Theft Auto VI would not bother him.

As reported by GamesRadar, Tomaszkiewicz and Rebel Wolves “do not think too much about the competition” when it comes to timing the release of their debut. It is a bold stance for a game that, while not in the same genre as Rockstar’s behemoth, beyond also being an open-world experience, still has to coexist with the enormous hype surrounding GTA 6, a phenomenon powerful enough to overshadow almost any other launch.

We have, in fact, seen this effect before. When GTA 6 was originally pencilled in for late 2025, many studios rushed to occupy the relatively quiet summer months or pushed their projects back to early 2026 to avoid running directly into it. That wave of competition never fully materialised because of the first delay, but a similar pattern played out recently with Hollow Knight: Silksong, whose status as one of the most anticipated games of the year convinced several publishers to quietly shuffle their release dates.

The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Director Sees a Chance To Prove Himself

Despite all these concerns, Tomaszkiewicz remains committed to launching The Blood of Dawnwalker next year as Rebel Wolves’ first production. Speaking to English-language outlets, he explained that the studio’s open-world RPG will not change course even if its launch ends up coinciding with GTA 6. As a player, he is looking forward to Rockstar’s new game, and as a developer, he views that overlap as an opportunity to show players what his team has built and to demonstrate that their work can stand on its own merits.

With this approach, Tomaszkiewicz is going against the grain of many studios that would rather flee the shadow of GTA 6. His message is straightforward: if a game has a strong concept and delivers on quality, it can still stand out, even when it shares the stage with industry titans. That said, it is worth remembering that neither GTA 6 nor The Blood of Dawnwalker has a fixed release date yet, so there is no guarantee they will actually arrive in the same week, or even the same month.

Source: 3djuegos