Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
After what was looking like a promising new outing for the Vampire: The Masquerade franchise in its 2019 reveals, Bloodlines 2 has seen no shortage of misfortune. Delay after delay has hit the game in addition to key talent exiting lead development roles. It doesn’t seem like the end is in sight either. Publisher Paradox Interactive has officially announced that Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 developer Hardsuit Labs has been pulled off the game and it has been pushed out of the 2021 release window.
Paradox Interactive announced this latest development regarding Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 via the game’s Twitter on February 23, 2021. According to the official announcement, Hardsuit Labs has exited lead development of the project and, as a direct result, a 2021 launch is no longer possible.
“We have made the hard decision that Hardsuit Labs will no longer be leading the development of Bloodlines 2 - which also means that we will not be releasing in 2021 as previously planned,” the statement reads. “Since we cannot at this time communicate a new release date, we’ve also decided to stop accepting pre-orders for the time being.”
It’s the latest in a long line of bad news for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 that began with a delay to late 2020 back in October 2019. Then, despite a promising trailer during Xbox’s next-gen showcases, it fell back further to 2021. Perhaps most troubling was in August 2020, when the creative director and narrative lead of the game, the latter being longtime franchise writer and contributor Brian Mitsoda, were fired and removed from development on Bloodlines 2.
With Hardsuit Labs officially off the project, it’s a uniquely rough situation Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 finds itself in. It will remain to be seen if Paradox Interactive can find a new developer that will better fit the project, but with no new release window to speak of, the future of Bloodlines 2 is looking foggier than ever.