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Hardsuit Labs faces layoffs after being taken off Bloodlines 2 development

The removal of Hardsuit Labs from work on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has forced the studio to make layoffs of various developer talent.

TJ Denzer

March 2, 2021 1:20 PM

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As Paradox Interactive made the decision to pull developer Hardsuit Labs off of work on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, there was bound to be a very serious backlash for the developer soon following. With a major project now out of its hands, Hardsuit Labs has moved to lay off talent that was previously working on the Bloodlines 2 project.

Word of the layoffs at Hardsuit Labs come via multiple former employees of the studio. According to employees, whole departments of staff at the studio were laid off at once around March 1, 2021. This follows immediately on the heels of Paradox Interactive dropping Hardsuit Labs as the developer on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, which has been delayed beyond 2021 as Paradox Interactive seeks a new development studio to get the game back on track for development. It is uncertain how many were affected by the layoffs at Hardsuit, but it is highly likely that in the wake of being dropped from Bloodlines 2 project, many at the studio suddenly found themselves without anything to actively work on.

Paradox Interactive dropping Hardsuit Labs is hardly the only of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2’s woes. The game had already been delayed back a year two separate times in 2019 and in 2020. Then, in a major shake-up, Hardsuit and Paradox fired the lead writer and creative director of the game, the former of which had been with the Vampire: The Masquerade franchise since its conception. With key players and the developer for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 dropped from the project, the fate of the game seems foggy to say the least.

Nonetheless, it would appear the misfortune has been passed down to staff at Hardsuit Labs as layoffs put many of the former Bloodlines 2 staff out of work. Stay tuned as Shacknews continues to follow this story for further information and updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.