Rise from your grave after centuries-long sleep, thirsty for blood and hungry to regain your former glory. Play

As a vampire, you need to hunt for blood in nearby settlements to regain your strength and quench your thirst. Build and customize your castle, invite friends to join your clan, and convert humans to vampires to grow your empire. Engage in real-time combat and compete for world domination with PvP and PvE challenges.

Make allies online, fend off holy soldiers, and wage war against other players in a world of conflict.

Claim your throne and live the fantasy of becoming the next Dracula!

Stunlock Studios has provided new insight into some of the many features being worked on ahead of V Rising's upcoming full game launch in Q2 2024. 

The devs have been hard at work upgrading V Rising’s foundations to create a more stable and well-supported 1.0 version of its game engine to ensure a smoother game experience. All this will be ready in time for the reveal of a brand-new, yet to be named zone; a dark and icy realm found beyond Hallowed Mountains, where new weapons, enemies, and a formidable challenge awaits! Fans will rejoice as news of live events, revamped spell mechanics, and enhanced character customization are all in development to expand on this already immersive vampire experience. Most importantly, the devs are completing the player journey with the much-anticipated end game. Check out the dev blog for more information on how the V Rising experience will be expanded upon:

“Prepare for the zenith of your Vampire saga! We're crafting an experience that feels like the grand finale of an age-old legend, and naturally, such a grand tale requires a grander stage. The ground beneath your feet will expand ever further, and once more, you’ll feel the call of bloodshed bringing you to new places…"

Foundations for Flourishing Futures

If you’re familiar with earlier entries of our Dev Updates, you’re aware that V Rising is built on a still-in-the-works experimental engine, which enables us to achieve technological witchcraft that might seem impossible to many developers. Taking the gamble on this engine has been worthwhile, giving life to the immersive world of Vardoran that you have come to know and love alongside us.

However, with this system came its trade-offs. One significant point was the inability to update the engine we were working on… that is, until now. Deep in our crypts, over the course of many careful steps, we have been upgrading our foundation. With the much more stable and well-supported 1.0 version of the game engine, it’s no coincidence we’re doing it right on time to pursue our own ambition of bringing you V Rising 1.0 in our next major update.

We believe this change will allow us to overcome previous limitations with optimization and pave the way for a smoother game experience. Those of you who have been hoping to indulge the ungodly power of your rigs should finally be able to feel the unspeakable frames-per-second your eyes have gotten so used to.

Furthermore, on the tech sorcery side, we’re also refining our game development tools. This gives us an incredible advantage in testing and iterating on level and gameplay design in a more organized, quick, and efficient way. We hope this will help us speed up future development and bring you more of what you love faster.

Here Comes the Big One (V Rising 1.0)

As we’ve stated, we are set on making this next major update our full release of V Rising, planned for the second quarter of 2024. While the tech team has been strengthening our support structure on the programming end of things, our design and art teams have also been working hard, shaping the coming release. So…what does it mean for V Rising to be in its ‘complete’ state?

The full version of V Rising represents a fusion of our original vision from years past and the invaluable feedback-driven enhancements and directions we’ve adopted over time. It means a fully fleshed-out and enticing journey through Vardoran, with a captivating beginning and a heart-stopping finale. It’s pushing forward with a complete vampire experience we can stand behind with pride.

We also want you to understand that ‘complete’ does not mean ending the game’s development. Our journey with V Rising continues as long as our players keep returning, hungry for more. There will still be plenty of ways for us to bring more bloodshed, decadence, and terrifying Vampire magic to the table beyond 1.0. 

Speaking of which, let’s get into some of the fun stuff. Here’s what we’re looking at adding to V Rising in the next major content patch. Like earlier previews, this is, of course, subject to change and by no means a complete list of possibilities.

Rule the Vampire Realm

Prepare for the zenith of your Vampire saga! We’re crafting an experience that feels like the grand finale of an age-old legend, and naturally, such a grand tale requires a grander stage. 

The ground beneath your feet will expand ever further, and once more, you’ll feel the call of bloodshed bringing you to new places…

That’s right! We’re unveiling a brand-new zone! It’s time to venture beyond Hallowed Mountains into dark and icy realms, where history has been frozen and unseen treats await.

Within this land, you’ll find an untapped faction of enemies, bosses to consume you, and of course…

…The ultimate rival…

…The final challenge…

The throne of Vardoran’s top predator awaits… dare you seize it?

The 1.0 patch is centered on enriching the final chapters of your Vampire chronicle, providing thrilling pursuits worthy of the immense power you’ve spent time collecting. It would be fun to share more about this now, but we think it might be a bit more fun to save the finer details for later. You know we love to tease.

… And Look Good Doing It

We’re also working on some sizzling cosmetic overhauls to quench your thirst for fashion. Originally, when designing V Rising, we had shied away from allowing players to customize their outfits because it felt important to be very clear about what gear another Vampire was wearing when encountering them in a player vs. player scenario. Since then, we added character-level displays, which mitigate that concern considerably. While cosmetic variety took a backseat back then, it’s roaring back into the limelight!

Envision this: Customizing your character’s ensemble down to the last detail. We’re brainstorming ways to craft varied outfits, experiment with vibrant color palettes and potential dyeing techniques, and, most importantly, grant you the freedom to personify your ideal Vampire vibe.

You can find yourself swaying gracefully in a lovely noble garment at a friend’s Vampire Masquerade or parading through Brighthaven in an ethereal gown, your scythe concealed, ready to surprise an unsuspecting Paladin of the Light. They’ll be too entranced by your elegance to anticipate the impending doom.

As with Gloomrot, we’re also looking to add more cosmetic options for the castle! While we’re keeping the grand designs under wraps, your suggestions are the heartblood of our darkest innovations. We want you to have the castle of your dreams, so tell us all of them.

Also, you may want to sit down for this one, but… oh, wait, you can’t sit in chairs in V Rising…

Yet.

Shaking Things Up

It’s time to crank up the heat and delve into a more immersive experience! Here’s where things get a bit spicier and a lot more experiential.

Another significant revamp is on the horizon for the spell and progression unlocks. We’ve noted a recurring sentiment: V Rising’s gameplay can feel a little repetitive at multiple playthroughs, especially for you vampires who spent hundreds or even thousands of hours in Vardoran.

You always have access to the exact same arsenal at the exact same points in the game. While such linearity works wonders for tech progression, it dulls the magic for spell unlocks. You’re essentially revisiting each stage with a déjà vu toolkit. Moreover, late-game spells and ultimates often get overshadowed, and the current dominance of “merciless charge” in the early mid-game is a testament to this.

Our solution?

We’re focusing on broadening spell accessibility early in the game, possibly separating the bond between learning specific spells and V Bloods. This doesn’t mean you’ll lose the feeling of draining the power from your foes to add to your own but instead looks to indulge that feeling in a way that’s more flexible for gameplay. We’re still figuring out the details, but it will include other advantages, such as allowing us to more freely chase our inspirations to design V Bloods without having to design a spell to fit them and vice versa. This change could mean more build variety at every stage of V Rising, but it also allows us to add spells and V Blood bosses whenever the creative thirst strikes!

Twisting the Tale

Last but not least, something you’ve clamored for is inching closer to reality: live events! When you’re reaching the apex of your vampire journey, you’ll find the new area bustling with spontaneous happenings, beckoning you out from your cozy castle for some tasty treats. Engage in alliances or face-offs with other Vampires, collecting valuable resources and bonuses crucial for the game’s advanced stages. These living events, if all goes well, could pave the way for dynamic events bursting to life all across Vardoran! While we’re still finetuning the mechanics and determining what will make the cut for the 1.0 patch, rest assured, our focus is on making Vardoran a more vibrant and unpredictable playground for the full release – both for PvE and PvP.

And yes… whispers abound about weapon additions. Though some savvy players have uncovered potential leads and might think they’ve deciphered some clues, be wary, as not every hint is a revelation. There is, however, a specific weapon we’re especially keen on, one that’s yet to be discovered by you clever bunch of skulkers.

Brace yourself for new weapons, a unique biome, new enemies and bosses, live events, revamped spell mechanics, enhanced character customization, an epic finale, and more as V Rising unveils its grandeur in 2024. Stay tuned for more about this and other well-kept secrets in upcoming blogs!

Until Next Time, Vampires!

Thank you so much for playing our games, from our first to our most recent; without you, none of this would be possible. With this comes a promise to ourselves and a promise to you that we’ll continue to progress and bring you games that we will strive to make better and better.

The path ahead looks better every day, and we couldn’t ask for better companions on our journey.

Key Features:

• SURVIVE AS A VAMPIRE. Play as a newly-awakened vampire, stripped from your dark powers. Feed on blood and evade the scorching sun to survive. 
• BUILD YOUR CASTLE. Become lord of your castle as you build and personalize your domain. Fortify and strengthen your base to combat the rising threat from other players.
• CONVERT THE HUMANS. Prey on your victims from the shadows or seduce them to be your vampire servants to assist in your nefarious deeds, laboring at your crafting stations.
• EXPLORE AN OPEN-WORLD. Embark on a blood-soaked journey in a vast open-world inhabited by other players, hostile humans, and supernatural creatures.
• PLAY SOLO OR CO-OP. Play solo or create a clan with friends as you roam the night. 
• RISE IN POWER. Expand your castle, learn unholy abilities, and forge an arsenal of mighty weapons and armor as you rise in power and conquer the realm. 

Currently available through Steam Early Access, V Rising is in development to PC (Steam), scheduled for Q2 2024.