We have some good news and some bad news for fans of vampire survivalbox V Rising: Stunlock Studios has effectively put the game in maintenance mode with no future content updates planned as it has shifted its efforts toward a new game set in the same world.
“[W]e’ve come to the conclusion that V Rising, in its current form, is something we’re proud of, and the journey to Dracula is a complete one as it stands,” the studio confirms in its blog post today. “[W]e are not currently developing a new content update for V Rising. […] We intend to continue supporting the game with balance and bug-fixing patches whenever we feel it’s necessary. To help find those moments, we’ll be holding regular polls to take the temperature of the game’s state based on your feedback.”
Oh, and the players do have feedback, starting with the feedback that they want content patches; the game’s Discord exploded with the news. And whether you’re mad or real mad probably depends on whether you already saw this coming based on Stunlock’s comments in 2025. Readers will recall that last June, the studio said that the 1.1. patch was “marking the realization of the vision [it] set out to achieve.” Let’s just quote the whole thing for posterity:
June 2025: “With this latest update, we’ve developed the core content we originally set out to deliver. Now, with our vision realized, we’re turning our gaze not backward, but inward, ruminating on how we can elevate our dark universe to even greater heights and what exactly that would mean. Before we can decide what’s ultimately next, we must return to our crypts to work in the shadows. To experiment, learn, and imagine what has not yet been imagined. It’s a familiar task, an invitation to a thrilling challenge. The path ahead will take longer than usual to reveal itself, but be patient and grant us time, children of the night. The Vampires will always rise. What comes next must be worthy of Vardoran.”
In retrospect, the devs were tiptoeing around the fact that they were done working on V Rising and were shifting to something new. But since the wording is so vague, many players understandably believed the devs were just asking for extra time to conjure up the next V Rising patch – hence the uproar today. The fact that the devs also admitted they’re not implementing mod tools is also adding fuel to the fire.
In any case, Stunlock is indeed actually working on another game.
“Put plainly, Stunlock Studios is working on a new game set in the beautiful, strange, and gothic world of V Rising,” they confirm today. “We’re very early in development, so you’ll have to give us some space to brew.” Again, the wording here is incredibly vague and content-free, but it sure sounds like the devs ran up against technical roadblocks for their ideas that made building a brand-new game smarter than continuing to iterate on V Rising. It’d just be nice if they’d say so to avoid all this confusion and drama.
V Rising took MOP’s multiplayer (non-MMORPG) game of the year award in both 2022 and 2024. Here’s hoping Stunlock can make that magic happen again.
