Rebel Wolves has confirmed that its vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker will ship with a 60fps Performance Mode on day one, reversing course after players complained about the game's console framerate options.
The backtrack follows a rough few days for what should have been a celebratory reveal. Over the weekend, the studio released a detailed look at how the game runs on consoles, including a gameplay trailer that has since been pulled. That footage laid out two modes: a 30fps Quality Mode at dynamic 4K and a 40fps Balanced Mode also targeting dynamic 4K. Notably absent was any mention of a 60fps option, even on PS5 Pro, and fans were quick to voice their disappointment.
What the developer said
Rebel Wolves addressed the criticism directly through the game's official account on X. "On Friday, we answered your questions about console performance with what we knew we could confidently deliver at launch," the studio wrote. "Performance Mode was already in the works, but it was still being tested. We simply weren't ready to promise it yet."
The developer went on: "We heard your feedback. It was clear how much this mattered to many of you, so we focused on finishing the next round of tests. Those results gave us the confidence we needed to confirm Performance Mode for Day 1."
The new mode targets 60fps on PS5, PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X, and it will arrive as part of the game's launch patch rather than a later update.
The full mode breakdown
According to the settings shared by VGC, each console will offer the following options:
- PS5 Pro: Performance (60fps), Balanced (40fps), Quality (30fps), plus overall visual enhancements
- PS5: Performance (60fps), Balanced (40fps), Quality (30fps)
- Xbox Series X: Performance (60fps), Balanced (40fps), Quality (30fps)
- Xbox Series S: capped at 30fps
So the Series S remains the outlier, locked to 30fps while the more powerful machines get the full spread.
The Blood of Dawnwalker carries a heavy pedigree. It is directed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who was game director on The Witcher 3 and worked in a lead production role on Cyberpunk 2077. That lineage has kept the game on plenty of watch lists. Both Eurogamer's Robert Purchese and VGC's Jordan Middler came away impressed after four-hour hands-on sessions, with Middler writing that it "instantly became one of my most anticipated games after four hours of play."
Kotaku's Ethan Gach struck a more measured note, pointing out that The Witcher 3 shipped at 30fps on console and still held up, while flagging a fair question: if a 60fps mode was already in development, why wasn't it ready for launch? Day-one builds have grown increasingly unpredictable, and that timing wrinkle is worth keeping in mind.
What it means for players
The Blood of Dawnwalker launches September 3 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. If you were holding off on a console purchase over the framerate, the day-one Performance Mode removes the biggest sticking point, at least on PS5, PS5 Pro and Series X. Series S owners still cap out at 30fps. As always with a new studio's first release, keep an eye on how stable that launch patch actually is before committing.
