Post by KostaAndreadis @ 12:50pm 24/02/21 | 0 Comments
Announced in 2019, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 quickly became one of the most talked about RPGs in development. As a sequel to a cult classic, we followed its development closely as publisher Paradox Interactive showcased early and impressive RTX-powered demos. Since then its 2020 release window was pushed back to 2021 -- with word today being there's another delay. And a studio change.
Yeah, as per the announcement from Paradox - "Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2". And that the release date or window is now sometime after 2021. A massive shake-up that puts the status of Bloodlines 2 into the 'delayed indefinitely' category.
Although we don't have any specific info relating to the development progress made within Hardsuit Labs, after the game's previous delay into 2021 the lead writer and creative director within the studio were fired -- with other key members leaving too.
The following 30 minute gameplay demo from 2019 features the now ex-Creative Director Ka'ai Cluney running through an early and promising version of the game.
"This game is very important to us and it has been an ambitious project from the very start. In order to meet our goals for it, we’ve come to the conclusion that a change is needed and, as a result, more development time is required," writes Paradox. "We’d like to take this opportunity to honor Hardsuit Labs for their efforts and thank them for their hard work on the project. The studio has done a tremendous job in laying the foundations for the game and we hope that you, the community, will also appreciate their contribution to Bloodlines 2."
So yeah, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 isn't cancelled, but in a very weird spot where another studio will pick up development and finish the game.
GAME TRIVIA - Did You Know?
The original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines was the first game outside of Valve's Half-Life 2 to be released using the Source engine - and there was a stipulation in its use that the game could not release before the return of Gordon Freeman. Even though that rule was in place, development was also slow and plagued with issues and ultimately developer Troika released an unfinished version of the game under the supposed direction of publisher Activision. Which ultimately led to first non-Valve Source engine title to become one of the buggiest releases of 2004.