Alex Skidmore

It's been five months since Paradox Interactive's surprise announcement Everybody's Gone to the Rapture developer The Chinese Room had taken the reins of its troubled Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2; in that time, the studio has been openly discussing its approach to the sequel, with its latest update now focusing on what it's calling «visceral immersive combat».

After detailing the three gameplay styles in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, The Chinese Room confirmed that a new gameplay trailer and deep dive would go live on January 31st. The next Dev Diary will arrive in two weeks and delve into the game’s final pillar, “Exploring the World of Darkness.”

The Chinese Room has released a new Dev Diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, discussing the “Visceral, Immersive Combat.” Project creative director Alex Skidmore says the goal is to “create an action experience that can compete with modern titles.” To that end, players can expect three gameplay styles: Strategic Stalker, Action Brawler and Narrative Adventure.

The Chinese Room has published a new Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 developer diary where Creative Director Alex Skidmore discussed the game's visceral and immersive combat system.

Another of the four playable clans from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been revealed, with Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room showcasing the Banu Haqim.

Another of the four playable clans from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been revealed, with Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room showcasing the Banu Haqim.

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room have revealed Banu Haqim as the thidr playable clan in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.

As part of the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, we saw a brief reveal of the third playable clan coming to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. While the first two reveals were clans that appeared in the original Bloodlines, the rebellious Brujah and the sorcerous Tremere, this is the first clan we didn't have a chance to try in our endless replays of the original Bloodlines. They're the Banu Haqim.

After the closure of original developers Troika, a long-awaited sequel announcement, delays and layoffs at Hardsuit, a secret change of studio (which led to further layoffs at Hardsuit), preorder refunds and the belated reveal that a developer best known for (very good) non-combat narrative experiences would be taking the reins, the only thing I really want to hear about Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 is that it’s definitely, absolutely going to reach the finish line. There are actual vampires that come back from the dead less often. But I'm piqued nonetheless by Chinese Room studio design director Alex Skidmore’s thoughts on how this Seattle-set World of Darkness action-RPG adaptation will differentiate itself from other games in the genre, and especially, how it will put its vampiric premise to use.

Following the surprise news earlier that Paradox Interactive's beleaguered Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 is now in the hands of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs studio The Chinese Room, the developer has talked a little about its goals for the rejuvenated project, saying it's building its action around 'doing things only a vampire can'.

The Chinese Room's rebooted version of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 won't be an immersive sim like Hardsuit Labs' version of the game was said to be.

There's been much secrecy regarding Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the 2004 cult favorite vampire RPG. First announced in 2019—with the original creatives returning for the sequel—work on that game hit a roadblock, and a creative and developer shakeup was announced in 2021.

Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has awoken from its long slumber, with a new studio and release window in tow. Over the weekend, Paradox Interactive confirmed that Bloodlines 2 development is in the hands of The Chinese Room, with a release window of fall 2024.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has risen from the depths of development hell, two years after Paradox Interactive parted ways with the game's former developer, Hardsuit Labs, and delayed the game indefinitely. The publisher has since recruited Dear Estherand Everybody’s Gone to the Rapturestudio The Chinese Room to work on the sequel to the original RPG from 2004. Bloodlines 2 is now set to arrive in fall 2024.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, sequel to the cult classic 2004 vampire role-playing game, has resurfaced in a new version made by a new studio after its development imploded in 2021.

This certainly isn't what I expected. The troubled Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, which I'd just about given up on, is now set to release next fall, over four years after its initial intended launch. Paradox Interactive has tapped The Chinese Room, developer of Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, as the studio to bring the fraught RPG across the finish line.