V Rising evoked a feeling of deja vu in the weeks after its early access launch. It's a top-down survival game by an indie dev that rocketed to the top of sales charts, reaching a million in almost no time. Still doesn't sound familiar? Maybe swapping the vampires for Vikings might ring a bell. It sure looks like V Rising is the Valheim of 2022 – hopefully, unlike the latter, the vampire version will be able to keep it going.
Developer Stunlock Studios has probably kept that in mind while figuring out the game's future content roadmap and endgame. The devs recently discussed what they have in store during a conversation with streamers, Asmongold and Rich Campbell (thanks PCGamesN).
“Our ambition is to bring back Dracula,” said game director Peter Ilves. He went on to elaborate, “what is his role, will you be able to challenge him, will you be able to become Dracula in the endgame, will you be sitting on the Throne of Darkness?” He revealed that the team is “really intrigued about” how this will play out, and that players will “definitely see” Dracula returning “as some sort of big event” in the future.
“Dracula isn’t just the endgame,” added creative director Martin Lövgren. “His effects on the world will be notable even in the early game. His impact will be something you experience throughout the journey.”
V Rising's endgame eventually develops into a faction war between multiple groups vying for power. The devs described it as having "Game of Thrones vibes" – perhaps that's not the best comparison to draw, considering how the HBO series ended and the backlash it received. However the game's upcoming content turns out, we know that the big bad from Transylvania will be returning to shake things up.
Last month, the game reached a million copies sold and also outlined the future plans for its early access period. "The next step will be to analyze all the data and feedback from the first weeks of Early Access to make sure we can nail the master plan moving forward," said the studio. "We’re already working on new material to inject more life into Vardoran, but improving on the game is more than just adding more content on top of what we already have."