what just happened Few games have had such a turbulent development phase as Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. It initially looked like the game would never be released, but in a surprise announcement, publisher Paradox Interactive has confirmed a release date and a new date from developer: The Chinese Room, creator of the excellent “Dear Esther” and “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture”.
It was already at GDC 2019 when Paradox Interactive delighted RPG fans around the world by announcing the sequel to 2004’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. The original game is loved by many despite its few issues; This author considers it her third favorite game of all, after Baldur’s Gate 3 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
But later in the original announcement year, there were signs all was not well when the March 2020 release month was pushed back to an unspecified date in 2020 because the studio “cared more about quality than staying within the Q1 release window.”
A second delay was confirmed in the summer of 2020, pushing the game back to 2021. The announcement also mentioned “organizational changes.”
But in 2021 things got even worse. Paradox said the game would definitely not be out this year, pre-orders have been suspended and the lead development team, Hardsuit Labs, has been removed. The game has been postponed indefinitely.
At the time, it looked like Bloodlines 2 would be stuck in development hell for all eternity, but Paradox assured fans in June that the game was still being worked on and that there would be more to report in September.
The publisher has kept their promise and confirmed the hopefully final release date for Bloodlines 2: late 2024.
The other big reveal is that the game’s new developer is indie studio The Chinese Room, which it says is introducing “a new codebase with different gameplay mechanics and RPG systems.” PC gamer. There is also a different story than planned by Hardsuit Labs. A new trailer has also been unveiled, with the gameplay reveal scheduled for January next year.