When Paradox Interactive announced in early 2021 that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 had been indefinitely delayed, with developer Hardsuit Labs being taken off the project, many feared the worst, with questions being asked about whether the game would even see the light of day. After all, after the decision was made to take Hardsuit Labs off development, the game almost ended up getting cancelled.
Recently, however, Paradox re-revealed the game and confirmed that it’s now being developed by Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture studio The Chinese Room, with a release window now set for Fall 2024. However, is there a chance that long-awaited action RPG sequel will end up getting delayed once again?
According to Paradox Interactive’s vice president of the World of Darkness IP Sean Greaney, that’s not going to happen. Speaking in a recent interview with Digital Trends, Greaney said that the publisher is “confident” the game will hit its launch window, which is why it has resumed marketing for it. In fact, the project has already passed the alpha stage of development, and continues to make good progress behind the scenes.
“If we weren’t confident in the new release window, we wouldn’t be starting the new marketing campaign,” he said. “There’s a reason we haven’t been out there communicating and marketing this title for a while. We wanted The Chinese Room to have the opportunity to get this baby, grow it with some uninterrupted development time, and clear alpha. Now that we’re through alpha, it’s the time to start talking to our fans.”
Interestingly, it’s also been revealed that The Chinese Room did not completely reboot development, and that a lot of the work originally done for the game by Hardsuit Labs is still being used, including a “significant amount” of art and character art, the story’s main themes, and the setting of Seattle.
It’s also been confirmed that the game is now being developed using Unreal Engine 5.
Upon its launch next year, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.