Paradox Interactive’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 won’t make its previously scheduled 2021 release date, the publisher announced, and pinned it on a substantial development setback: Lead developer Hardsuit Labs is no longer working on the game.
On the Bloodlines 2 website, Paradox Interactive said that while the game is still in development, the publisher is no longer sharing a release date, nor is it accepting further pre-orders for the game.
“This game is very important to us and it has been an ambitious project from the very start,” Paradox said. “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.
“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.”
Paradox’s status update on Bloodlines 2 follows a similarly dire-sounding development milestone from last summer, when the publisher confirmed the firing of two key creators. Lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka’ai Cluney were dismissed from Hardsuit Labs in August, a move described as “a joint decision made by the leadership of Hardsuit Labs and Paradox Interactive.”
That news came shortly after a major delay of the game, from 2020 to 2021. That was Bloodlines 2’s second delay; the game was originally slated for the first quarter of 2020.
Paradox announced Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 in March 2019. The sequel to the 2004 cult classic is in development for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.