V Rising

V Rising is set in an open world, split into seven biomes, where the player controls a recently awakened vampire. The player gathers materials, makes and upgrades their equipment, and builds a castle that acts as their home. To unlock access to more advanced materials and equipment, players must defeat bosses found throughout the world. To survive, players must meet needs and avoid hazards specific to vampires, such as regularly consuming blood and avoiding the sun.

Players consume blood from enemy non-playable characters (NPCs) by performing a specific action once the NPC is near death. Every NPC is assigned a particular category of blood based on their faction, and a Blood Quality, which is randomly assigned when an NPC spawns. Blood categories grant the player particular benefits, functioning similarly to character classes. Blood Quality determines the potency and range of the benefits.

V Rising is developed by Stunlock Studios in the Unity game engine. On release an ongoing internet connection was required to play, but a hot fix removed the requirement allowing play while offline. On May 17, 2023, the first major update titled Secrets of Gloomrot was released on Steam. It introduced the ability to create multi-level castles, added items called "jewels" that augmented spells, introduced a "domination" mechanic for horses allowing them to be summoned by the player at will, among other changes.

Version 1.0 was released on May 8, 2024, ending the game's Early Access period. This version included new bosses, biomes, and additional cosmetic items as well as the completion of the main story line. However, the developers state this will not end the game's development. The full release of the Windows version included optional paid downloadable content based on the Castlevania series, with the protagonist able to dress up as various characters in the series and battle Simon Belmont in an optional boss fight.

IGN's early access review thought that the crafting aspects of the game were time-consuming, but praised the boss design and action role-playing combat.

Following its early access, V Rising sold over 500,000 copies in the first three days, 1 million copies after the first week, and 1.5 million after the second. By January 2023, the game had sold three million copies. In January 2025, V Rising had surpassed five million copies sold worldwide, and by November of that year, that total rose to six million copies.